University of Massachusetts Amherst, Biostatistics & Epidemiology Department

The University of Massachusetts Amherst, the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, is a nationally-ranked public research university and home to over 22,000 undergraduate and 6,000 graduate students. The 1,430 acre campus is located in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. UMass Amherst, along with Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges, is a member of the Five College Consortium and the Academic Career network. The region boasts a rural setting with easy access to major metropolitan areas.  University employees enjoy excellent benefits and opportunities for career development.

The Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology is one of six departments in the School of Public Health & Health Sciences. We are a highly collaborative group of 22 faculty researchers and lecturers (11 Biostatisticians and 11 Epidemiologists) who are active in research in a variety of areas.  In biostatistics, this includes Bayesian methods, methods for high-dimensional data, biomarker discovery, population genetics, bioinformatics, clinical trials, time-series analysis, missing data, survey sampling, causal inference and survival analysis.  In epidemiology, this includes cancer etiology, community-based research, women’s health issues, physical activity, nutrition, and biomarkers.  Department members collaborate extensively with faculty from other departments across campus, the University’s Medical School, and Baystate Medical Center. Additionally, active collaborations exist between biostatistics faculty and the UN, WHO, CDC, and other governmental agencies and academic institutions in the US and internationally. The Department is also actively engaged in its teaching mission. We teach approximately 50 courses a year, to approximately 500 undergraduate majors in public health, 35 graduate students in biostatistics, and 40 graduate students in epidemiology.