July 27, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Department of Biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health has been awarded a three year, $120,000 grant by the Merck Co. Foundation Quantitative Sciences Fellowship Program to train the next generation of biostatisticians who will play an important role in future drug discovery and treatment development.

“Quantitative methods in biopharmaceutical research is a general term referring to a variety of fields, including the field of biostatistics,” said Christopher S. Coffey, Ph.D., associate professor of biostatistics and director of graduate studies in the department. “The intent of this fellowship is to train the next generation of scientists to develop statistical methods that will lead to improvements in the drug development process, for example, bringing successful drugs to patients faster and weeding out unsuccessful drugs more quickly so that patients with any number of conditions and diseases can be helped much more quickly and effectively.”

The foundation’s grant provides full tuition, stipends and travel money for one student in the department per year over the three years. The UAB Department of Biostatistics will select the student to receive the award each year. In the final year of the fellowship, the foundation will host the students and their advisers at a symposium highlighting achievements during their fellowship.

Thirty-seven schools vied for the five spots that were awarded the Merck Co. Foundation Quantitative Sciences Fellowship Program. Other winners include the University of Wisconsin-Madison, North Carolina State University, Boston University School of Public Health, and Case Western Reserve University.