The Program in Psychiatric Statistics enables predoctoral and postdoctoral statisticians to apply modern statistical methods to mental health research problems and refine existing methodologies where needed. Although recent developments in statistical methods have helped advance many areas of biomedical research, statistical problems in psychiatry have not received as much attention. Thus, there is a strong need and opportunity for statisticians with a solid base in theoretical probability and statistics who are trained and motivated for careers in psychiatric statistics. The training program in psychiatric statistics, leading to a Ph.D. in Statistics, is uniquely designed to fill this need.
The program is jointly sponsored by the Department of Statistics at Carnegie Mellon University and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, giving students the opportunity to take courses from the Departments of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. This interdisciplinary approach has made it possible to design a program that gives solid training in statistics, epidemiology, and psychiatry. The program is further enriched through the participation of postdoctoral fellows who have received Ph.D.'s in Statistics and are interested in research applications in medicine and public health.
Ph.D. Program in Psychiatric Statistics
Students who enter with less than two years of graduate study generally focus their efforts on following the Statistics Department Ph.D. curriculum, but may devote at least part of their studies to psychiatric statistics. Formal training for the Program in Psychiatric Statistics typically begins during the third year of graduate work in statistics or its equivalent. All trainees enroll in the seminar in psychiatric statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. Three separate activities take place in this seminar: (1) trainees have an opportunity to discuss their research projects with each other and with the faculty of the Department of Statistics; (2) guest lecturers in the biomedical and biobehavioral sciences present their work; and (3) pertinent statistical theory and methods are taught.
A major part of the curriculum beyond the formal coursework is a series of research apprenticeships. Work on one of these projects usually becomes dissertation research for a predoctoral trainee. These apprenticeships give trainees the practical experience of working with data from research projects at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC), which is part of the University of Pittsburgh and is the largest psychiatric research institute in the country.
The following is a partial list of innovative research projects being carried out at WPIC that involve participants in the Program in Psychiatric Statistics: Psychobiological Correlates of Depression, Psychiatric and Primary Medical Treatment of Depression, The Three Mile Island Accident: Psychiatric Sequelae, Biobehavioral Approaches to the Treatment of Hypertension, Exposure to Lead: Psychological and Behavioral Sequelae, Maintenance Therapies for Affective Disorders, Psychobiological Correlates of Suicidal Behavior, Age of Onset for Schizophrenia, and Predictors of Stabilization for Treatment of Acute Depression.
If you are interested in this program, please indicate this on your application form.
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