Principles of Biostatistics
Course Description
​This course provides a practical overview of core biostatistical concepts essential for clinical and translational research. Through a combination of lectures and hands-on labs, participants will become familiar with key topics including advanced clinical trial designs (e.g., sequential, adaptive, Bayesian, platform), sample size determination and statistical power analysis, multiple testing correction techniques, and randomization strategies (e.g., micro-randomized trials, stratification, clustered, blocking). The course will also review the key elements of a detailed statistical analysis plan and standardized reporting guidelines for data safety monitoring boards (DSMB) to enhance transparent and rigorous research practices. Examples will be provided using R. ​
Instructor
Dustin J Rabideau, PhD
Associate Director, Biostatistics and Strategic Initiatives, Massachusetts General Hospital
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, Harvard Medical School
Dustin J. Rabideau, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Associate Director of Biostatistics and Strategic Initiatives at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Biostatistics. Dr. Rabideau has served as an Instructor in the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he co-taught "Applied Regression Analysis," and has delivered numerous lectures to clinical fellows and junior faculty on the design and conduct of clinical trials. His research focuses on developing and applying innovative statistical methods for pragmatic randomized trials, contributing to over 65 peer-reviewed publications in the statistical and medical literature. Dr. Rabideau is actively involved in training and mentoring early-stage clinical investigators and leading data coordinating centers for large-scale multisite pragmatic trials in psychiatry, cancer, and reproductive medicine.