biostatistics-biometrics-bionformatics

[johnzav]

hi ,

I graduated from department of statistics in Greece and i am looking for a master in statistics.The field that i am interested in, is statistics in Public health,medicine etc...with a research i made on the internet, i didn't understand which is the main difference between those fields( biostatistics-biometrics-bioinformatics).if anyone knows, i'll be glad to hear about it.

And of course , any suggestions about masters programs on these fields, are welcomed!!

 

[hlsmith]

General differences:

biostatistics: statistics in the field of health

biometrics: science behind measurements in the field of health

bioinformatics: science behind health data (medical records, registries, insurance data, etc...)

There is considerable overlap between all of these programs.

 

[johnzav]

Firstly, thanks for the reply.
so, which field do you suggest to have a master's in ? I know that this is clearly my decision of course, but i am very confused! i made my research, and because i want to take my master's basically in Netherlands, i didn't found a program in ''biostatistics''.there are programs like ''statistics in life sciences and behavioural'' . the other programs are in ''bioinformatics'' , ''clinical research'' , ''medical sciences'' etc. I know that maybe i am being foolish, but it is a very tough decision! and i want ot be sure, to choose the right one!

 

[TheEcologist]

If those are the fields you want to become active in then you should strive to obtain a Msc with a strong basis in statistics and mathematics. Make sure to choose a master at a University that will allow you to gain experience in clinical trials and clinical trial design. One way would be to go for a master in Statistics, and make sure your thesis work is carried out in a department of Biostatistics/bioinformatics or e.g. labs that do research on new drugs and treatments. Additionally look at the future job you envision to have, and look closely at the requirements for education and experience in the applicants profile sections. This will tell you what people are looking for.

 

[johnzav]

this is a very good start!! thanks for the reply!
are u from netherlands? maybe you can help me with additional informations about universities there!! if toy want , give me ur e-mail!

thanks again!

 

[johr]

Biostatistics and Biometrics are same (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biostatistics):

"Biostatistics (or biometry) is the application of statistics to a wide range of topics in biology. The science of biostatistics encompasses the design of biological experiments, especially in medicine, pharmacy, agriculture and fishery; the collection, summarization, and analysis of data from those experiments; and the interpretation of, and inference from, the results. A major branch of this is medical biostatistics, which is exclusively concerned with medicine and health."

See description of Bioinformatics (in wikipedia):

"Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combines computer science, statistics, mathematics, and engineering to study and process biological data. Bioinformatics is both an umbrella term for the body of biological studies that use computer programming as part of their methodology, as well as a reference to specific analysis "pipelines" that are repeatedly used, particularly in the fields of genetics and genomics."

Biostatistics and Bioinformatics have some common ground when statistical methods are used in understanding of biological data. Mostly todays bioinformatics focus on genomics data (sequence, dna, rna, protein data).

 

[hlsmith]

Wikipedia is Wikipeida...


The bioinformatics description is drastically missing the individuals that design and run electronic medical records and data storage, as well as those that over see parts of National databases and surveys.