KUMC has new department
A new biometry department has been established at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
Biometry
mathematical and statistical methods to biological information, said Khatab Hassanein, associate professor and acting chairman of the new
applies
Goering supports ISP platform
Joe Goering, Moundridge senior and student body vice president, said today he admires the commitment, thought, and work behind the Independent Student Party (ISP) platform.
Goering said he did not support any specific candidate but is impressed with many of the ISP candidates. "I am very impressed with the work done
Apr. 10
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by ISP to fulfill their platform promises," he said.
Specifically, Goering said he supports the sections concerning reduction in college education costs, initiation of a black tutorial program, and improvement of the academic atmosphere.
biometry department at the KU Medical Center.
"Every step in these three sections is very carefully worked out," said Goering. "The position papers on these subjects indicate that much time has been spent on their organization. I admire the ideas and ideals of these ISP people."
"Biometry is not a new science," Hassanein explained, "but biometry departments in medical schools are新."
"The University of Kansas is only the fifth medical school in the nation to establish a biometry department, although there have been departments of biostatistics in schools of public health." Hassanein said.
"Eventually I believe all medical schools will have biometry departments."
Hassanein said the initial staff and working program for the new department was developed last fall by Malcolm E. Turner Jr., biometry professor at Emory University in Atlanta, where he established the first medical school biometry department.
Other medical schools having
biometry departments are Louisiana State University, the University of Southern California and Medical College of Virginia.
Robert Mosteller, KU Medical Center biometry instructor, explained: "The biometrist adds the science of mathematics to the science of life.
"We build mathematical models for biological systems similar to a molecular model in physics or chemistry.
"We take data which the researcher gathers and try to formulate a theory or build a model that will aid physicians and scientists in making predictions.
"The biometrist, in formulating a theory for cancer growth, for example, might want to determine how much carcinogen or cancer-producing
substance it would take to cause death.
"We would try to relate the dosages of carcinogens to the formation of cancer, and then to subsequent death due to cancer."
Warren Legler, computer science instructor, divides his time between the Medical Center's biometry department and his office in Strong Hall.
Legler said the use of computers enabled the biometrist to make predictions in a much shorter, more convenient time and under safer conditions.
"We build models too," he said, "but the models we build are on the analog computer. You could call them electronic models of equations."