University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
IHSI | Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute

Writing BERD Services into Grants

Including biostatistical support in grant proposals can enhance quality of data collection, management, and analysis, as well as positively impact evaluation by reviewers. If you wish to write biostatistical support into your grant proposal, it is our policy that the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Core at IHSI be included as a consulting service.

Publications

If publications result from work supported by the BERD Core at IHSI, proper acknowledgment of this contribution is expected. BERD would like to adhere to the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding credit and responsibility related to authorship:

  • Substantial intellectual contribution as to the statistical aspects of study (design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results)
  • Drafting or revising sections on statistical methods and results including tables and graphs
  • Final approval of the version to be published
  • Agreement to be accountable for the statistical aspects of the study by appropriately investigating and resolving questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the contributed sections

If the contribution does not meet all these criteria, please acknowledge BERD Core support by including the following in your submission:

We thank the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Core for supporting the work on this project.

 

Please also share your success by sending us the title(s), author(s), and/or journal name(s) for the submission(s) or publication(s) in which the core is acknowledged.

Grant Proposals

Upon confirmation of post-award core availability and receipt of a cost estimate, you may copy and paste the following sections into your grant proposal, as appropriate:

Resources Page

Core description
The Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Core at the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, provides centralized support for researchers in study design, sample size/power analyses, data collection, data management, advanced analytical methods (epidemiologic analysis, analysis of variance, generalized linear models, structural equation modeling, multilevel mixed effects modeling, multivariate analysis, meta-analysis), and technical writing and program evaluation. The core consists of doctoral- and master’s-level biostatisticians and epidemiologists from both academic and industry backgrounds. Investigators receive support through direct consultations and long-term collaborations. Statistical software includes SAS (primary), SPSS, STATA, R, PASS and GPower. The core has state of the art, secure networks with full administrative support, a dedicated IT team, and a service unit for scheduling, tracking, and billing core usage. With the exception of pre-grant work that is provided at no cost to Illinois investigators, core services follow an hourly cost rate structure.

Space
Illinois Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Core biostatisticians are housed within a suite of three offices (approximately 4,300 square feet) with fully-equipped conference spaces and kitchen area within the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI). Data is stored and analyzed on password-protected machines/secure servers that are maintained by a dedicated IT team. However, biostatisticians typically hold meetings in investigators’ home offices. This enables the biostatisticians to work with a variety of investigators across campus, as well as external partners, and thereby promotes the core’s interdisciplinary focus and commitment to furthering the research mission of the University.

Biostatisticians (biosketches and/or CVs available upon request)

Fatima Ahmed, MS
Application of standard statistical techniques to answer health-related research questions (including animal models), analysis of nutritional content of diets, data management, and data harmonization

Amandeep Kaur, BDS, MPH
Power and sample size calculations, data management, study designs, longitudinal and cross-sectional data analysis, generalized linear mixed models, survival analysis, and non-parametric models

Jesus N. Sarol Jr, PhD
Sample surveys, epidemiologic methods in observational and experimental studies, parametric and non-parametric tests, generalized linear models, survival analysis, multilevel models, multivariate analysis, analysis of count data, zero-inflated models, power and sample size calculation, meta-analysis and program evaluation

Budget Justification

Biostatistical Support
Optional cost estimate: [$xx] is requested for services of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Core at IHSI to complete the current project [or can enter amount per year]. This cost estimate was determined by the core team as detailed below.

The Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Core at the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) facilitates and provides biostatistical collaborations involving the design, conduct, analysis, and publication of biomedical research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Billed services include:

  • Assistance with the design, conduct, analysis, and publication of biomedical research from biostatisticians and epidemiologists with varying levels of expertise
  • Administrative support, including scheduling, tracking, and billing services

As part of IHSI’s mission to advance health-related research, core resources are available to the investigator throughout the project lifespan and follow a cost structure that is subsidized for Illinois investigators. The core team will determine the appropriate allocation of basic, intermediate, and expert services to complete the project according to the anticipated deliverables, duration of the project, type of data generated, and analytical needs.

  • Basic services: $50/hour (commonly-used statistical methods, data management, and programming)
  • Intermediate services: $80/hour (advanced biostatistical and epidemiologic methods, data management, and programming)
  • Expert services: $125/hour (PhD-level advanced biostatistical and epidemiologic methods)