Data lead to answers.

Fundamental to public health research and policy, biostatistics is also one of the most interdisciplinary departments at Boston University School of Public Health. By designing studies, developing new methodologies, and extracting and analyzing information from data, we help inform decisions to promote better health.

Biostatistics faculty members are internationally recognized for methodological innovations in clinical trials and observational studies, statistical genetics analysis, and Bayesian methods. They have a long history of collaborating to address some of the world’s most pressing public health concerns, as well as training the next generation of students to tackle emerging public health and medical issues with cutting-edge methods and technological skills.

Areas in which we are active include genetic studies of risk factors for breast cancer; safety and efficacy assessments of a new Alzheimer’s disease drug; comparisons of patient outcomes with different behavioral interventions; and studies to identify genetic and non-genetic factors of healthy aging and extreme human longevity.

Affiliated Academic Programs:

MS in Biostatistics MS in Applied Biostatistics

PhD in Biostatistics Master of Public Health

Recent Department News

Latest Publications

  • Published On 7/24/2026Stroke-Related Acceleration of Brain Atrophy Beyond Aging in the Framingham Study: Paired Pre and Post MRI Evidence and Cognitive Associations.Cerebrovascular diseases (Basel, Switzerland)read at PubMed
  • Published On 7/21/2026Multi-ancestry colocalization approaches.PLoS geneticsread at PubMed
  • Published On 7/16/2026A genomic-led strategy to anticipate drug safety effects.PLoS geneticsread at PubMed
  • Published On 7/16/2026Cross-cohort analysis of expression and splicing quantitative trait loci in TOPMed.Science (New York, N.Y.)read at PubMed
  • Published On 7/8/2026A blended genome and exome sequencing method captures genetic variation in an unbiased and cost-effective manner.Nature geneticsread at PubMed