Biostatistics Shared Resource

Deukwoo Kwon, Ph.D.

Biostatistics Shared Resource Director

Kwon serves as the Director of the Biostatistics Shared Resource. He is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at UAMS. Kwon has more than 20 years of experience as a biostatistical collaborator in the design, conduct, and analysis of biomedical research studies. He has expertise in clinical trial design, cancer registry data analysis, Bayesian inference, high-dimensional data analysis, clinical prediction modelling, and cancer risk estimation under complex exposure uncertainty.

• Milan Bimali, Ph.D., Biostatistician – Bimali is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biostatistics. He provides support in protocol development, study design, and development of statistical analysis plans and reports. Bimali has primarily worked as a biostatistician in the academic health science setting but also has industry experience and has worked as the lead statistician in the medical device industry. His research interest is in clinical trials and statistical literacy among clinical researchers.
• Reid D. Landes, Ph.D., Biostatistician – Landes is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics. His research interests include methods of evaluating dose response in animal experiments and human studies, host response to cancer therapy, radiation and atrial fibrillation among atomic bomb survivors, and obesity and excess weight as a risk factor of cancer.
• Song Ounpraseuth, Ph.D., Biostatistician – Ounpraseuth is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and has extensive experience in the design and analysis of clinical trials, particularly of early-stage clinical trials. He has been a collaborator on studies of older patients with cancer, focusing on healthcare costs and quality of life, and on cancer control studies related to community engagement in the rural African American community.
• Eric R. Siegel, MS, Research Associate – Siegel is a Research Associate and has a longstanding history of collaboration with Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute investigators, particularly with member studies related to breast, colorectal, and head and neck cancer. He also serves as the study statistician for several cancer-related, investigator-initiated clinical trials.
• Jeff Thostenson, MS, Research Associate – Thostenson is a biostatistician in the Department of Biostatistics and has over 20 years of experience in medical and clinical research. He has a research interest in linear and generalized models, missing data methods, agreement analysis, clinical trials, and observational studies.

The Biostatistics Shared Resource brings statistical expertise and experience to collaborative research from basic science to clinical and translational research. The Biostatistics Shared Resource provides a centralized statistical resource to support research in various areas, including cancer biology, cancer prevention and population sciences, and cancer therapeutics. It offers state-of-the-art expertise and experience to Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute investigators at all stages of research and grant development, including formulation of testable research aims and hypotheses; development of study design and experiment plans; definitions of variables, including outcome measures and endpoints; development of statistical plans and methodologies; and justification of sample size and estimation of statistical power. Additionally, the Biostatistics Shared Resource personnel engage in other research activities, including scientific review of protocols, analysis of manuscripts and abstracts, analysis of pilot and preliminary data, and provision of biostatistical education for junior cancer researchers. A Biostatistics Shared Resource statistician is assigned to each WPRCI Research Program and regularly attends program meetings to stay informed regarding the status of ongoing and planned research within the program. The Biostatistics Shared Resource Director is a member of the Cancer Institute Internal Advisory Board. Additionally, all protocols reviewed by the WPRCI Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee receive a review by a member of the Biostatistics Shared Resource.

The Biostatistics Shared Resource faculty and staff have desktop computers or laptops with standard office software and access to the UAMS network. All computers are equipped with Intel^® Core™ i7 or higher processors, 512GB or larger hard drives, and 16GB or higher memories. Each computer is connected to a local laser or inkjet printer. Statistical software used in the Department of Biostatistics includes SAS^®, R, NCSS^®, and StatXact^® for data analysis; PASS^® and nQuery^® for power/sample size calculations; East^® for clinical trial design and monitoring of adaptive, group sequential, and survival clinical trials; and MPLUS^® and WinBugs for special use of statistical analysis. Additionally, other freely downloadable statistical software applications, including Python and MD Anderson Biostatistics Software, are also used by Biostatistics Shared Resource statisticians.