The Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Epidemiology Program (BBE) supplies the statistical and mathematical modeling expertise needed within Fred Hutch’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division to accomplish our ambitious objective of eliminating disease and death attributable to infection. We are also accelerating research to confront the growing burden of COVID-19, HIV and cancer-related infectious diseases worldwide.
BBE's nearly 34 faculty members model epidemics, research statistical methods to design complex global clinical trials, and analyze biological assays to better understand infectious disease processes and immune responses.
A hallmark of BBE is the simultaneous pursuit of excellence in both methodological and applied science. Researchers frequently develop novel mathematical approaches to better answer scientific questions that continually emerge from ongoing studies within the division.
Fred Hutch serves as the statistical and data management center for several international collaborative studies aiming to develop safe, effective vaccines, preventions, and therapies to combat HIV/AIDS. BBE faculty members contribute critical expertise to these networks. This includes designing experimental protocols, innovating statistical methods for data analysis and analyzing and interpreting study data.
BBE faculty member Peter Gilbert leads HVTN’s Statistical Data Management Center. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, HVTN oversees worldwide clinical trials to test vaccines against HIV/AIDS. The network designs and conducts all phases of clinical trials, from evaluating experimental vaccines for safety and immunogenicity to testing vaccine efficacy.
BBE faculty member Elizabeth Brown leads MTN’s Statistical Data Management Center, and SCHARP is employed to supply clinical data management and statistical service support. Established in 2006, MTN conducts studies aimed at developing topical or oral antiviral medications to reduce transmission of HIV/AIDS. The network includes more than 25 clinical research sites in seven countries worldwide.
BBE faculty member Deborah Donnell leads HPTN’s Statistical Data Management Center, and SCHARP is employed to supply clinical data management and statistical service support. Founded in 2000, HPTN researches integrated strategies for HIV prevention, including antiretroviral drugs and behavioral interventions.
BBE faculty member Ollivier Hyrien leads VISC, a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded program that provides statistics support for the Foundation’s HIV vaccine development initiative, Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD). The BBE statisticians in VISC have expertise in the areas of biostatistics, immunologic assays, bioinformatics, data management, and information systems. VISC also partners with SCHARP for management of lab data and other critical operational support.
Fred Hutch directs major worldwide, multicenter studies to model the spread of infectious diseases and to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Our biostatisticians play leadership roles in these initiatives.
Evolutionary biologist Trevor Bedford uses complex statistical and computational methodology to study the rapid spread and evolution of viruses, from Influenza to Zika. The goal is to disrupt global epidemics before they spread.
Dr. Elizabeth “Betz” Halloran is a world leader in using mathematical and statistical methods to study infectious disease. She is a pioneer in the field of designing and analyzing vaccine studies, including studies of HIV vaccines. In addition to being Program Head of VIDD’s Biostatistics, Bioinformatics & Epidemiology Program, she is the director of the Center for Inference and Dynamics of Infectious Diseases. Headquartered at Fred Hutch, this center helps the federal government understand and prepare for infectious-disease outbreaks. She is also the founder and Director of the Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling in Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health. Her work is used to develop strategies to stop outbreaks of serious global threats such as Zika, Ebola and SARS-CoV-2 virus diseases, influenza, cholera and dengue fever.
In recent months Betz has taken a leading role in advising local, regional and global governments on matters relating to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, notably as a participating member of the World Health Organization’s Blueprint for Research & Development Working Group on Trial Design for Emerging Infectious Diseases, as well as its Scientific Advisory Group.
Dr. Holly Janes is a biostatistician working on the design and analysis of vaccine studies, with a particular expertise in HIV prevention and vaccine science. She also develops and applies statistical methodology for evaluating biomarkers for risk prediction and optimizing treatment decisions.
(Deborah Donnell, Ollivier Hyrien and Holly Janes)