The CCTST Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Program offers both methodologic guidance on research projects and extramural grant application support to investigators at both UC and CCHMC.

METHODOLOGIC GUIDANCE ON RESEARCH PROJECTS
BERD provides free 1-hour consultative services to investigators who desire methodologic guidance for their research projects.  Information to be discussed during the consultation may include (but is not limited to):

• developing and refining study hypotheses

• guidance regarding a statistical analysis plan

• guidance regarding data management needs

BERD will refer investigators who require additional support beyond the 1-hour consultation to the appropriate services.

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EXTRAMURAL GRANT APPLICATION SUPPORT
For faculty members who are developing an extramural grant application, BERD provides a wide range of support services towards the grant submission. These services include (but are not limited to):

• help refining hypotheses

• study design

• creating the statistical analysis plan (including power/sample size calculations),

• assisting with preliminary data analysis.

 
BERD Vouchers
If assistance is needed for purpose of an extramural grant application that exceeds the 1-hour consultation, BERD vouchers can be awarded to supplement the cost of BERD methodologist and services.  Services covered by the voucher system include (but are not limited to):

• Study design

• Development of a statistical analysis plan

• Statistical analysis of preliminary data

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SPECIAL VOUCHER OPPORTUNITIES
For faculty members who hold K-equivalent career development awards (e.g., KL2, K08, K25), BERD supports the services above, as well as provides statistical analysis and data management services. BERD vouchers can also be used for these services.
 
Voucher coverage has also been recently expanded for URM investigators to support a variety of other research needs, such as statistical analysis for manuscript submissions or internal grant applications.

The Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) program is committed to providing research method support to all members of the CCTST, assisting faculty members with their extramural grant submissions and junior investigators with their career development grant awards. Our highly skilled staff is uniquely qualified to help you overcome a myriad of challenges with your research and grant applications, leading you to success. Over the past 5 years, we have assisted over 400 people and have helped investigators receive nearly $37 million in funding. 

When you request help from the BERD, you will be assigned to one of our knowledgeable methodologists for a free, one-hour consultation to discuss your project and answer your questions. If you need help for more than one hour, our consultants will refer you to other helpful resources. Vouchers are available for investigators developing extramural grant applications to help cover the cost of expanded methodologic services.  Voucher coverage has also been recently expanded for URM investigators to support a variety of other research needs, such as statistical analysis for manuscript submissions or internal grant applications.  

Some of our top service requests include: help developing and refining your hypothesis; creating a statistical analysis plan; assistance with data management; help planning your study design; and assistance with preliminary data analysis.

Click here to learn more about BERD, or contact BERD Director, Jareen Meinzen-Derr, PhD (jareen.meinzen-derr@cchmc.org), if you have any questions.

The CCTST would like to announce a new mechanism through the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) program to support underrepresented minority (URM) junior and mid-career faculty.  

The BERD program is committed to providing investigators with ready access to research methods support.  As such, BERD provides free 1-hour consultative services to all CCTST investigators who desire methodologic guidance regarding their research projects.  Information to be discussed during the consultation may include developing and refining study hypotheses, guidance regarding a statistical analysis plan, and guidance regarding data management needs.  BERD will refer investigators who require additional support beyond the 1 hour consultation (e.g., conducting a statistical analysis, building a research database) to the appropriate services.

Vouchers are now available to support the academic careers of URM faculty who are at the associate professor level or earlier in their career to access BERD services, such as statistical analysis, for manuscript submissions and internal grant applications.

For all faculty members who are developing an extramural grant application, BERD provides a wide-range of support services towards the grant submission.  These services include (but not limited to) help refining hypotheses, study design, creating the statistical analysis plan (including power/sample size calculations), and assisting with preliminary data analysis.  For faculty members who hold K-equivalent career development awards (e.g., KL2, K08, K25), BERD supports these services as well as provides statistical analysis and data management services. Vouchers are available to eligible faculty investigators for these services.

Click here to learn more about BERD, or contact BERD Director, Jareen Meinzen-Derr, PhD (jareen.meinzen-derr@cchmc.org), if you have any questions.

The CCTST Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) program is committed to providing investigators with ready access to research methods support. BERD offers 1-hour consultations for investigators to meet with a methodologist to discuss research questions and data management assistance. If assistance is needed that is beyond the 1-hour consultation, investigators will be connected to the appropriate program or core for support. Investigators who are applying for extramural grants and for those who have a K-award will be referred to the BERD voucher program to supplement the cost of the BERD methodologist and services.

Amie Duncan, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center who has worked with BERD on several recent projects focused on daily living skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Three Awards, One Focus

Daily living skills, which are activities that are required for everyday independence at home and in the community, are impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), even those without a comorbid intellectual disability. Despite the fact that individuals with ASD who have better developed daily living skills are more likely to live independently, attend college, and be employed, there are no intervention packages that target daily living skills. 

Through a CCHMC KL2 grant, Dr. Duncan developed and conducted a RCT of a group intervention, Surviving and Thriving in the Real World (STRW), that targets increasing specific daily living skills (e.g., hygiene, cooking, laundry, and money management) in adolescents with ASD. Results of the pilot RCT revealed that adolescents with ASD who do not have an intellectual disability made 2 to 2.5 years of progress in their daily living skills over the course of a 14-week intervention.

Dr. Duncan then received both a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) K23 mentored grant and a Department of Defense Autism Research Program grant to implement and conduct a larger feasibility RCT with 120 adolescents with ASD and their parents that are randomized to the daily living skills intervention or a social skills intervention. Overall, a daily living skills intervention has the potential to directly affect current functioning and future adult outcomes in adolescents with ASD by increasing capabilities for skills that are needed for a successful outcome in adulthood.

Dr. Duncan shared, “Over the last several years, I have been actively working with statisticians through BERD as I went through the iterative process of developing and evaluating the daily living skills intervention. Specifically, they were extremely helpful in thinking through questions related to the overall design of the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and the use of primary and secondary outcome measures to assess daily living skills. The BERD statistician also assisted with writing up both the power analysis and data analysis plan for several different internal and external grants, and was extremely helpful in addressing comments from grant reviewers during the resubmission process.”