By eliminating redundant coursework, expanding elective opportunities and introducing R programming earlier in the program, the Department of Biostatistics is pivoting toward a deeper, student-focused and computational approach to the field.

In a world teeming with health data—from smart watch accelerometry to millions of hospital system electronic records—how do researchers find out which medical treatments truly work? Biostatistician Rebecca Hubbard discusses the messiness of real-world data, the limits of randomized controlled trials and how both of these powerful—but imperfect—methods are essential for building a trustworthy ‘edifice of evidence.’