About

Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource (BBSR)

Overview of Services

The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (SCCC) Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource (BBSR) provides state-of-the-art biostatistics and bioinformatics resources and services, and expertise in their applications, in support of oncology research, including basic and translational research, clinical trials, and both interventional and non-interventional population-based studies.  The BBSR offers support for data-intensive and large-scale data analysis projects.  Services include support for data analysis and interpretation, software access, algorithm and database development, consultation, training, educational workshops and seminars.  The BBSR enables investigators to take advantage of advances in data acquisition in oncology research by employing cutting-edge data analysis tools and methods. These services are only available to faculty and staff with a primary appointment at the SCCC. This mechanism is recommended for divisions and departments with short-term epidemiological and statistical needs as hourly-charged fee for service plan.

What does this plan provide?

Biostatistics

  • Data analysis of population-based cancer registry data from existing databases such as SEER, NCDB, FCDS
  • Data analysis of population-based data for cancer risk assessment and health disparities Study design
  • Database design and management

Bioinformatics

  • Next-Generation Sequencing Data Analysis including whole transcriptome/single-cell RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, ATAC-Seq, Exome/Whole Genome Sequencing, 16S rRNA, and other NGS technologies
  • Pathway/Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and Gene Network analysis
  • Functional metagenomics analysis
  • Biomarker discovery and prediction modeling for clinical outcomes
  • TF binding motif sequence analysis
  • Drug sensitivity and genomic association analysis
  • Genomic data integration using public database such as TCGA, CPTAC, GEO, ENCODE, etc.
  • Integration analysis of genomic data across multiple omics platforms
  • Genomic data visualization

How does it work?

SCCC members, affiliates, and research staff requesting service must complete a “Investigator Request for Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Collaboration” form which includes acceptance of the “Acknowledgement and Authorship” policy.  The investigator/department requesting the service will have a consultation meeting to discuss project needs.  After discussion, BBSR Director or his designee will provide an estimated cost for services.  A Worktag/account # must be provided on the request form or at time of consultation. Once the project is completed, an electronic notification and invoice will be sent to the authorized personnel for approval of payment.

Rates:

User Category

Hourly Rate

Cancer Center Members and Affiliates

$104/hr.

UM Users (Non-Cancer Center Members)*

$130/hr.

External Users (NON-UM Personnel)*

$200/hr.

*Core leadership approval is needed for support of projects from Non-cancer Center Members/Affiliates and External Users

 

Policies and Guidelines for Collaboration under the ‘Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource’

We recommend that investigators include the BBSR as early as possible in the development process. Please contact us well in advance of any deadlines (e.g., abstract submissions, grant applications, IRB deadlines). 

 Expected Turnaround Time for Initial Consultation Meeting

Someone will contact you within 72 hours of receiving your request. An appointment will be scheduled with a member of BBSR, usually to occur within one week.

 Expected Turnaround Time for Actual Work on the Project

This is, of course, dependent on the nature and scope of the project.

Recommended Lead Times

  • Grant proposals: single project (4 – 6 weeks), multiple project such as P01, SPORE, Team Science (12 weeks)
  • Clinical trial protocols: minimum 8-12 weeks (highly variable)
  • Other protocols: minimum 6 weeks
  • Letter of Intent: 2 – 3 weeks
  • Biostatistical and bioinformatics analysis : 4-8 weeks(highly variable even with a complete, numerically coded electronic database)
  • Database consultation: 4 weeks

Allow additional time and resources for data preparation, in consultation with BBSR biostatisticians and bioinformaticians, if necessary.

BBSR biostatisticians and bioinformaticians can provide consultation regarding database structure as part of study planning. However, investigators must make their own arrangements for data collection and entry.

Policies for Manuscript Writing

Authorship

A frequently asked question is whether biostatistical consultants should be co-authors on scientific papers. We feel that decisions about authorship should be independent of consideration of funding sources. As recommended in published guidelines (Parker RA, Berman NG: Criteria for authorship for statisticians in medical papers. Statistics in Medicine 17: 2289-2299 [1998]), “The basis of financial support should be the time/effort spent on a project and the basis for authorship should be whether the statistician has made a scientific contribution to the project.” We follow ICMJE criteria for authorship: Substantial contribution to data analyses or manuscript preparation constitutes authorship and not acknowledgment. Authorship cannot be exchanged with currency to pay for services. Per ICMJE guidelines, authorship implies all four of the following items: (1) substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; (2) drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; (3) final approval of the version to be published; and (4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. 

Acknowledgement

Use of the BBSR constitutes an agreement for acknowledgement to be given to the shared resource when work is performed for papers, presentations (such as poster, oral, video), reports, and websites. Proper acknowledgement is a visible measure of the impact of the BBSR as a Shared Resource and it is essential for continued SCCC funding and support.

How to Acknowledge BBSR:

"Research reported in this publication was performed in part at the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource (BBSR) of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, RRID: SCR022890, which is supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number P30CA240139. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH."

RRID's are part of the national Resource Identification Initiative that was established to help researchers cite key resources, improve transparency of research methods, enable FAIR sharing of resource information, facilitate research rigor and reproducibility, and enable better tracking of the impact of shared resources.

 

Leadership

Yan Guo, PhD | Core Director

Michele Ceccarelli, PhD | Asst. Core Director of Bioinformatics

Lola Sumner, MA | Core Administrator

Location

1120 NW 14th Street  

Don Soffer Clinical Research Center, 10th Floor

Miami, FL  33136

Links and Resources

Contacts

Name Role Phone Email Location
BBSR
Administration
 
305-243-2865
 
bbsr@med.miami.edu
 
CRC 10th FL
 
Isildinha Reis, PhD
Radiation Oncology and Urology Researchers
 
305-243-5884
 
ireis@med.miami.edu
 
CRC 10th FL
 
Yuguang Ban, PhD
Bioinformatics Lead
 
305-243-4704
 
yuguang.ban@med.miami.edu
 
CRC 10th FL