Annual Meeting - Pre- and post-Meeting Workshops

Morning Workshop Session*: Workshop on Developing an Epidemiologic Research Project
Presenter: Dr. Scott Osborne
Time:   Tuesday, June 19, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

This half-day session will address multiple facets of the process of developing an epidemiologic research project. The first part of the session will focus on (1) general strategies for developing an idea into a research application, and (2) an overview of the review process for epidemiologic research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The second part of the session will focus on (1) alternative career paths, (2) the development of some particular areas of inquiry in epidemiology, (3) organizing different kinds of research projects, and (4) writing an application for the NIH or other funding agency. Specific examples will be presented by active epidemiologic researchers in each of these areas. Overall, the session will provide general and specific guidance on how to develop an idea into a project with realistic goals, the characteristics of successful research strategies, how applications are assessed, and the qualities of an outstanding application. 

The cost for this workshop is $25 in advance, $35 on-site at the conference, and registration is required.  You should register for this event online when you register for the meeting.  This event is being sponsored by the Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER) Student Caucus, and seating priority will be given to students or anyone eligible for SER student membership.  All others will be registered as space permits.  For more information, contact Jennifer Kelly at Jennifer_Kelly@urmc.rochester.edu or Karthik Ramakrishnan at ramakk@umich.edu

*Note: Tickets are required for this session, available on a first come first serve basis, and may be purchased at the time of conference registration.  Priority registration will be given to students ($25 early registration, $35 registration prior to conference, $40 on-site registration) 

All Day Workshop Session*: SEER*Stat Software Training - Analyzing NCI-SEER Cancer Data with SEER*Stat Software
Presenter: National Cancer Institute
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is an authoritative source of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States. SEER currently collects and publishes cancer incidence and survival data from population-based cancer registries covering approximately 26 percent of the US population. The SEER Program registries routinely collect data on patient demographics, primary tumor site, tumor morphology and stage at diagnosis, first course of treatment, and follow-up for vital status. SEER incidence data has been linked to county-level socioeconomic variables from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 US censuses. The SEER Program is the only comprehensive source of population-based information in the United States that includes stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis and patient survival data. 

The SEER*Stat statistical software provides a convenient, intuitive mechanism for the analysis of SEER and other cancer-related databases. It is a powerful PC tool to view individual cancer records and to produce statistics for studying the impact of cancer on a population.  SEER*Stat contains data on over 7 million cancers diagnosed from 1973-2003. The mortality data accessible through SEER*Stat includes US deaths from all causes for the period 1969-2003.   Training in the use of SEER*Stat would be of interest to students in need of data for dissertations as well as to epidemiologists with active research programs.

The course will be taught from a hands-on perspective with each participant working through a series of structured examples on individual PC's.  Upon completion, participants should be able to use SEER*Stat to analyze data questions pertaining to cancer surveillance and control.  Particular emphasis will be placed on SEER*Stat's ability to utilize county-level attributes to examine various variables related to socioeconomic status and their impact on cancer incidence. 

There is no cost for this workshop, however advanced registration is required and will be limited to the first 35 participants to register.  Those interested can register at http://www.scgcorp.com/seerstat2007/registration.asp.

Lunch is on your own.  Light refreshments will be provided.

*Note: Class participation requires a laptop computer.  Class participants must supply their own windows-based laptop computer which must have either an internal or external CD or DVD drive.

Genome-Wide Association Studies for the Rest of Us: Adding Genome-Wide Association to Population Studies
Friday, June 22, 2007 – 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
www.regonline.com/128020

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies of large numbers of individuals genotyped for hundreds of thousands of genetic variants are increasingly being used to identify genes related to health and disease.  These studies typically rely on the availability of large numbers of well-characterized individuals, such as those participating in ongoing population-based cohort studies and clinical trials, from which carefully ascertained cases and controls can be selected for genome-wide genotyping.  Early successes in macular degeneration, inflammatory bowel disease, prostate cancer, diabetes, coronary disease, and breast cancer demonstrate the power of this approach, particularly in identifying regions of the genome that were previously not suspected to be related to these diseases. 

Click here to download an agenda...

The need for epidemiologists and genomicists to work closely together in such studies is evident by the complexity of the data generated and the need for careful replication, relying on similar populations and disease definitions and similar, or at least measurable, environmental exposures.  This workshop is designed to facilitate rigorous GWA studies in ongoing or planned epidemiologic studies and clinical trials, and to reduce obstacles in designing and conducting these studies, especially among epidemiologic investigators using this technology in population-based studies for the first time.   Eleven leaders in this field will discuss challenges in bridging these fields; design of initial and replication studies; genotyping platforms and quality control; managing and analyzing data; data sharing, collaboration, and synthesis; and best practices and research needs.

There is no cost for this workshop, however seating is limited and pre-registration is strongly recommended.   Those interested can register at www.regonline.com/128020 .

Lunch is on your own.  Light refreshments will be provided.