2008 ENAR SPRING MEETING

We are very pleased to invite you to Arlington , Virginia , March 16-19, 2008 for the ENAR Spring Meeting in conjunction with Sections of ASA and IMS! We have an exciting program planned, with strong representation from the ASA Biometrics Section, and we look forward to seeing many of you there.

The theme of the meeting is “Statistics in Practice –Creative Solutions to Bioscience Challenges”. We are fortunate to have Dr. Donald Berry, Head of the Division of Quantitative Sciences and Chairman of the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center , as our Presidential Invited Speaker. His talk “Biostatistics, Science and the Public Eye” will focus on the role of statisticians in addressing important scientific issues and in influencing policy in the health field. Before Dr. Berry 's lecture, up to 20 Distinguished Student Paper Awards will be presented. Details on how to apply by the November 1 deadline can be found at the ENAR website, http://www.enar.org . In addition, ENAR is honored to host the IMS Medallion Lecture of Mary Sara McPeek, Professor of Statistics and Human Genetics and Senior Fellow of the Computation Institute at the University of Chicago . She will speak on “ Statistical Challenges in Genetic Association Studies” . The complete invited portion of the scientific program is available at the ENAR website, and the deadline for receiving all abstracts is November 15, 2006 .

The continuing education program consists of six half and full day short courses, tutorials and roundtable discussions. The topics of the short courses include Statistical Computing Using R, Statistical Methods for Genome-wide Association Analysis, Statistical Monitoring of Clinical Trials, Modeling Covariance Structures in Mixed Models, Measurement Error in Nonlinear Models, and Drop-Out in Longitudinal Studies. Also, be sure to attend the four Biometrics Section sponsored sessions organized by Tim Johnson with a focus on joint models for surrogate and final outcomes, analyzing data with below-detectable limits, and two separate topics on Bayesian non-parametrics (genomics and new directions).

For the Tuesday evening social event, ENAR attendees will take a short bus ride into Washington , and dine at a Spanish “Tapas” restaurant. After dinner there will be a moonlight tour of the Monuments. We also urge all members to take a little extra time to enjoy Washington before or after the meetings.

NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR 2008 BYAR YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD AND BIOMETRICS SECTION TRAVEL AWARDS

Do you know a young investigator who is planning to submit an abstract for the 2008 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM)? If so, you may wish to alert that individual that the ASA Biometrics Section is seeking nominations for the 2008 David P. Byar Young Investigator Award. This annual award is given to a young investigator for best emerging work to be presented at the JSM. The award is in memory of David Byar, an internationally known biostatistician who made significant contributions to the development and application of statistical methods and was esteemed as an exceptional mentor during his career at the National Cancer Institute. The winner will receive a $1,000 cash award.

In addition to the Byar Award, the Section may also provide additional travel awards to the authors of other outstanding papers that are submitted to the Byar award competition.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Having held a doctorate in statistics, biostatistics or related quantitative field for three years or less as of April 1 of the current year or being currently enrolled as a student in a doctoral program in statistics or biostatistics and in active pursuit of a doctoral degree.
  
• Being a current member of the ASA Biometrics Section (applicant may join at the time of submission for only a $3 annual membership fee ). Please note that membership in ASA does not automatically confer Section membership; ASA members must join individual sections in addition to their generic membership. You must join the Biometrics Section to be eligible.
  
• Being first author of the paper submitted for consideration for the Award. The paper may be unsubmitted, submitted or under review, but may not have already appeared in a journal either on-line or in print at the time of the application or have been accepted for publication as of January 1 of 2008.
  
• Being scheduled to present the same paper submitted for the Award at the 2008 Joint Statistical Meetings in Denver as either a talk or poster presentation.

Applicants are encouraged but not required to submit their abstract to the Biometrics Section.

For the 2008 competition, the application materials should consist of, in electronic format:

• A cover letter certifying that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements
  
• A current CV
  
• One copy of the finished paper (drafts are not acceptable)
  Applicants are also invited to submit one copy each of supplementary published or in-press papers if they compose a body of scientific work related to the paper to be presented. If these are not available electronically, please contact the Chair of the committee at the e-mail address below

The 2008 Awards Committee, chaired by Dr. Thomas Ten Have, is composed of the 2008 current and past section Chairs and Chair-Elect as well as three additional individuals to be appointed by the section Chairs prior to the competition. Information regarding this award is also available on the Section webpage, easily accessed by clicking on the “Section” tab at the top of the ASA website ( www.amstat.org ).

All materials, including the paper, must be submitted electronically on or before April 1, 2008 .

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Thomas Ten Have, Chair, 2008 Biometrics Section Awards Committee, at ttenhave@upenn.edu .