DO you have a thing for numbers and a desire to help advance epidemiological research? If yes, perhaps you ought to consider a career as a biostatistician.

ID Your Career chats this week with Dr Sam McDaniel, mathematics lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, and the holder of a PhD in Biostatistics and Infectious Diseases, as well as a master’s in Biostatistics, both from Harvard University in the United States.

The married father of four (Danielle-Lee, 15, Theresa, 11, Stephen, 10, and Gabriel, six months) also holds a master of philosophy in Statistics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, both from the UWI, Mona.

A former lecturer in the Department of Economics, also at the UWI, Mona, McDaniel, 44, has taught the likes of Education Minister Andrew Holness, Agriculture Minister Dr Chris Tufton and Opposition Senator Basil Waite.

Who is a biostatistician?

A biostatistician is a statistician who applies statistical methods to biomedical problems and epidemiological problems.

What is the value of the work that you do?

The Swine Flu is on us. Studies are going to be conducted, data is going to be had, the epidemiologists are going to be involved. At the end of the day, we need to make sense of the data that is there. Who does it? The biostatisticians, who also interpret the results of the data. Authorities may want to know if there is a relationship between the number of deaths and the age of persons contracting the swine virus and we answer those questions.

What prompted your entry into the field?

Serendipity. I was in the Mathematics Department here (at the University of the West Indies, Mona) teaching one year and this guy was visiting another department that deals mainly with these kinds of studies. This guy visited and he had what is called an NIH grant that was to try and improve the number of biometricians/biostatisticians in Jamaica and Nigeria. My boss at the time said: ‘Phmmm, maybe we should send Sam’. There was always this desire on my part to do more work and so I went to do a short introductory course on biostatistics at the Medical University of South Carolina. So I was there. I did well and once I got my leg in it, I got home and started doing some research as to how I could do a PhD in that programme. I did my GRE and (now) I have a master’s in biostatistics and PhD in biostatistics and infectious disease at Harvard University.

What are the challenges that you face as a biostatistician?

It can be time-consuming if you are going to get rich data. The richer the data set is, the more you can get out of it. So it can be really time-consuming in terms of churning the numbers. But there is a lot of reward in actually doing the number-crunching because all or most of the questions you work on are practical to current and historical medical research problems.

What are the academic requirements for getting into the field?

Mathematics! No joke, the best students in biostatistics are those who do well in mathematics – so mathematics even before biology. Typically a good first degree in mathematics or statistics with good GRE grades will get you into a good North American university.

What are the employment opportunities open to someone who is trained as a biostatistician?

Endless. If I was driven by money, I would be working abroad right now. There are endless job opportunities, especially in North America. First of all, most of the pharmaceutical and drug development companies abroad have in-house biostatisticians and they are always looking for more biostatisticians.

Why would you advise anyone to get into biostatistics?

It is not for everybody. For persons who are in mathematics and are doing well, they should consider this discipline for two or three reasons. One, it is “practical”. Two, employment tends to be readily available after graduation. And three, it is financially rewarding for those who are so motivated.

How much can you earn on an annual basis as a biostatistician?

At the PhD level, I know for sure you can earn US$140,000 ($12,180,000). If you take two-thirds of that, you get the earnings of a biostatistician at the master’s level. So there is financial reward in it – no doubt about that.