Identity, Mission & Vision
Addressing population health and biomedical challenges requires novel thinking about data.
Our bold vision for a healthier world unites biostatistics, epidemiology, and informatics.
Addressing population health and biomedical challenges requires novel thinking about data.
Our bold vision for a healthier world unites biostatistics, epidemiology, and informatics.
We unlock the actionable knowledge embedded in complex biomedical and population health data by formulating substantive questions and by developing, applying, and teaching state of the art methods to answer these questions.
We create comprehensive insights to enable Penn Medicine and the global scientific community to enhance health and well-being for everyone.
A healthier world powered by population and biomedical data science knowledge.
The Clinical Epidemiology Unit (CEU) was established within the Division of General Internal Medicine to integrate epidemiologic methods into the teaching, clinical practice, and research at Penn’s School of Medicine. The CEU later evolved into the CCEB, DBE, and GGEB.
The Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB) was created to unite and support biostatisticians and epidemiologists across Penn Medicine and the University. Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH served as the CCEB’s founding director. Today, Alexis Ogdie, MD, MSCE (pictured) is the Director of the CCEB.
The Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology (DBE) was created to provide an academic home for biostatisticians and non-clinician epidemiologists, supporting research in both fields. Dr. Strom (left) led the Division of Epidemiology until Harold I. Feldman, MD, MSCE (center), succeeded him in 2001, and J. Richard Landis, PhD (right) assumed leadership of the Division of Biostatistics in 1997.
The Graduate Group in Epidemiology and Biostatistics (GGEB) was created to support students pursuing clinician and non-clinician roles in these fields. At Penn, PhD programs use “graduate groups” to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. DBEI faculty and CCEB scholars often teach and mentor GGEB students.
The department was renamed to reflect the inclusion of the Division of Informatics. Today, the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (DBEI), it is one of the few medical school departments bridging all three disciplines.
Enrique F. Schisterman, PhD, MA, became Chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics at Penn Medicine on February 1, 2021. A national leader in epidemiological methods and reproductive epidemiology, he has expertise in both biostatistics and epidemiology. Dr. Schisterman (left) is pictured with Jonathan Epstein, MD (right), Interim Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine.