Department of Biostatistics Biostat CIRCL

Project-based partnerships are designed for large entities, such as Colleges or RPAs, to provide biostatistical collaboration for investigators on short-term, unfunded research projects. Researchers covered by the project-based partnership can apply for a voucher to collaborate with a biostatistician on a single project, with vouchers awarded based on the availability and expertise of CIRCL biostatisticians. Project-based partners fund a limited number of vouchers; as such, investigators who receive a voucher are not responsible for funding biostatistician time/effort.

The advantage of a project-based partnership is that it makes biostatistical collaboration available to a large number of investigators. However, they are limited in scope—each voucher focuses on a single project—which may reduce team cohesion and limit the biostatistician's impact on the broader research trajectory compared to a sustained partnership.

Our current project-based partners are the College of Medicine and the College of Public Health. If you are a member of one of these groups, you can apply for a voucher to work with the Biostat CIRCL at https://bit.ly/BiostatCIRCLproject.

Examples of voucher-sized projects include data analysis for a single manuscript or development of a statistical analysis plan for a single grant proposal. For quick statistical questions or brief advice (no data analysis), open consultations are also available on a first come first served basis for College of Medicine and College of Public Health researchers. To a schedule a 30-minute consulting appointment, visit https://bit.ly/BiostatCIRCLconsult.

For information about establishing a project-based partnership, please contact BiostatCIRCL@uky.edu.

Sustained partnerships are designed for smaller entities, such as Departments or Divisions, to create a meaningful, long-term research collaboration between a lead biostatistician and a group of researchers working in a focused domain area. The partnering group funds time/effort for a dedicated lead biostatistician to work with members of the group on an ongoing basis.

Researchers in the partnering group are encouraged to embed the lead biostatistician within their research team(s) through activities such as research idea generation, analyses and writing for manuscripts, study design and grant preparation, participation in research team meetings and journal clubs, and personalized seminars or workshops.

Sustained partnerships are recommended for groups of researchers seeking to build a long-term collaborative relationship with a biostatistician. This type of partnership can serve as a foundational investment to strengthen research teams and enhance their competitiveness for extramural funding.

For information about establishing a sustained partnership, please contact BiostatCIRCL@uky.edu.

We are continually expanding our sustained partnerships. If you are unsure whether you are affiliated with one of our partners, please submit a collaboration request at https://bit.ly/BiostatCIRCLproject. Your request will be reviewed and triaged based on your affiliation.

No, CIRCL biostatisticians are team scientists who work with investigators as research partners. We never analyze data without deeply understanding the research questions, how the data were collected, and what important information may not have been measured. Selecting and interpreting appropriate statistical analyses not only requires expertise in statistical methodology, but it also requires critical assessment of factors related to study design. In fact, the most successful projects include collaboration with biostatisticians in the study design phase as well as the analysis phase of the project.

We follow the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)’s recommendation for criteria warranting authorship on scientific manuscripts which can be found here. Brief statistical advice does not warrant authorship, but in most cases, contributions to projects including study design and/or data analysis would meet these criteria.

Funding and authorship are independent questions. The Biostat CIRCL requires funding in order to employ excellent biostatisticians, and regardless of funding, intellectual contributions to research should be recognized with authorship as they would be for any other team scientist (see ICMJE guidelines mentioned above).

It varies from project to project. When a new voucher is awarded, the lead CIRCL biostatistician will develop a Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP) that describes in detail the planned statistical analyses. The SAP serves as the agreement of biostatistician time/effort. If analyses are requested outside of those detailed on the SAP, a new voucher application may need to be submitted.

Biostat CIRCL faculty may be available to join grant proposals as key personnel, subject to their own interest, expertise, and availability. This should be requested and negotiated directly with the individual Biostat CIRCL faculty member, just as it would be for any other team scientist. To discuss options for staff support on funded projects, reach out to BiostatCIRCL@uky.edu. Planned collaborations with the Biostat CIRCL should not be written into grant proposals without explicit approval from the Biostat CIRCL.