For Immediate Release:
December 1, 2000

Contact: Laurie Slothower
(916) 734-9023
Pager (916) 762-9855

UC DAVIS NAMES DIRECTOR OF BIOSTATISTICAL PROGRAM
Laurel Beckett will work alongside researchers in designing, interpreting studies

Sacramento, CA - Laurel Beckett, Ph.D., a biostatistician with extensive experience in medical research, has been appointed professor of epidemiology and preventive medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and director of its biostatistics unit.

Biostatistics, an essential component of medical research, has become increasing important in analyzing and interpreting sophisticated studies. Biostatisticians help make sure researchers have enrolled enough subjects in a study for valid results; recommend how long study subjects need to be followed; discern real differences from chance variation; identify risks and averages and set up randomization plans in double-blinded studies.

Beckett will work with researchers in a wide range of studies, including clinical trials, population health studies and basic science investigations. She will also work with the UC Davis Department of Statistics in developing a new graduate-level curriculum in biostatistics and will teach medical school students, fellows and junior faculty how to apply statistical methods to their research.

Beckett comes to UC Davis from the Rush School of Medicine at the Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, where she was a professor of internal medicine. While at Rush, she was involved in research into Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other chronic diseases of aging.

Before coming to Rush, Beckett was an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and an associate professor at Texas A&M.

Beckett earned her Ph.D. in statistics from Stanford University. She has held consulting positions with Stanford Medical School, the New York Public Health Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Wright State University, and Indiana University.

She is also a member of the scientific advisory board for the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Johns Hopkins and a reviewer for several scientific journals, including the Journal of the American Statistical association, the Journal of Gerontology and the Annals of Epidemiology.

Copies of all news releases from UC Davis Health System are available on the web at http://news.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

Health System | School of Medicine | Medical Center | Medical Group