| As a senior graduating high school in Culbertson, Nebraska, Lynette
Hock aspired to become a doctor. At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
she completed courses in genetics, general biology, anatomy, microbiology,
and chemistry.
However, Hock began to question her future plans. Although she
wanted a career in medicine, her interests lured her toward mathematics.
However, Hock discovered that medicine and mathematics are not
mutually exclusive fields. Vast quantities of data have increased
the demand for statisticians in a variety of disciplines. Statisticians
enjoy a special role and are able to contribute expertise everywhere
from the social sciences to the natural sciences. The medical field
is among those areas seeking the clarifying power of statistical
analysis.
Following her junior year, Hock attended a Research for Undergraduates
(REU) program at Rutgers University where she applied her mathematics
background to model the energy levels formed by DNA when it folds.
"From the REU experience, I saw how mathematics and statistics
directly relate to medical research," she stated.
After completing her undergraduate degree in mathematics and a
master's program in biostatistics, Hock joined the University of
Nebraska Medical Center [UNMC] as a Statistical Coordinator.
Hock assists researchers from a study's incipient stages to publication.
During the design of a study, Hock will advise researchers as to
the appropriate sample size, ensuring a satisfactory margin of error
and thus the integrity of the study's conclusions.
Once completed, studies frequently generate massive quantities
of data. Hock selects the forms of analysis that will parse through
the numbers to reveal connections between variables. Hock explains
the mathematical relationships that she discovers to researchers
and helps report the results in journals and at conferences.
Dr. Jane Meza, Associate Professor of Biostatistics at UNMC, explained
that a career as a biostatistician enables her to share in a variety
of research projects at UNMC, ranging from survey sampling to clinical
trials.
As a statistician for the Chidren's Oncology Group, Dr. Meza has
been involved in a National Cancer Institute funded study investigating
the treatment and symptoms of rhabdomysocarcoma, a cancerous tumor
of striated muscle that is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in
children and adolescents.
She has also studied the effect of glaucoma treatments on eye color
and gene behavior during breast cancer.
Sometimes the needs of medicine exceed the capabilities of established
statistical practices. Both Hock and Meza conduct research to improve
statistical methodology and analysis to meet researchers' needs.
Recently, Hock has been analyzing data from a study attempting to
correlate certain genes with the severity of lymphoma symptoms,
such as life expectancy.
New technology allows researchers to measure the activity of thousands
of genes in tissue samples from patients. According to Hock, this
process "creates huge data sets that defy traditional statistical
techniques."
Hock has experimented with multiple weapons from her technical
arsenal, such as cluster analysis, classification and regression
trees, as well as permutation tests in order to obtain a satisfactory
understanding.
Meza and Hock advised students interested in biostatistics to pursue
research assistantships and internship while in college. For Meza,
who completed her graduate and undergraduate degrees in statistics
at UNL, a research assistantship lead to her faculty position.
As for educational background, Hock noted, "I don't think
any preparation in biology is required, but it definitely helps
to have an interest in it." Dr. Meza added that opportunities
are available for those possessing bachelor's, master's and doctoral
degrees. |
