# LA’s Biostatistics Education Summer Training Program (LA’s BEST @USC)

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2020 · $249,191

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Health disparities in our nation are acute and a multi-faceted approach is needed to properly tackle this growing
problem. Increasing the diversity of biomedical research scientists is one key strategy to address this crisis. With
the current deluge of health-related data and a projected 34% growth in the job market for statisticians from 2014
to 2024 (Bureau of Labor Statistics), now is the time to diversify our biostatistics workforce. Herein, we plan to
expand the pool of students from underrepresented groups in biostatistics by introducing a new curriculum for
teaching methodologies in biostatistics, LA’s Biostatistics Education Summer Training Program at the University
of Southern California (LA’s BEST @USC), with a focus on current research challenges in the study of heart
and lung disease.
 The Division of Biostatistics in the Department of Preventive Medicine of the University of Southern
California (USC) is uniquely positioned to attract talented prospective biostatisticians from underrepresented
groups into the field due to its success in graduate level training since 1976, location in the ethnically diverse LA
Basin, multi-disciplinary research in diverse populations, and real-life oriented approach to biostatistical
research. The faculty has expertise in epidemiological methods, spatial statistics and clinical trials, and has an
NIH-funded P01 to develop novel statistical methods for integrative genomics. Training a diverse workforce of
scientists requires a diverse faculty. A team of faculty from backgrounds including women, African, Latino,
Japanese-American, and first in their family to attain a college education, who all share a tradition of individual
hands-on research mentorship and extensive portfolios of research grant support in biostatistics, epidemiology,
clinical trials, is amassed and available to trainees. With this team, we propose following specific aims: 1) To
identify and recruit high-quality and highly-motivated college undergraduate students from underrepresented
groups. 2) To provide the trainees with courses and hands-on training in biostatistics. 3) To provide mentoring
and professional development training. 4) To track LA’s BEST trainees through completion of their
undergraduate degree, post-graduate education, and to their first employment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9894852
- **Project number:** 5R25HL147236-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Juan Pablo Lewinger
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $249,191
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-15 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9894852

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9894852, LA’s Biostatistics Education Summer Training Program (LA’s BEST @USC) (5R25HL147236-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9894852. Licensed CC0.

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