Research at TUSDM

TUSDM students, residents, staff, and faculty

Research at TUSDM

Biostatistics

Activities and Responsibilities

The Division collaborates with investigators at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) on novel research.  We are also active in teaching, conducting independent research, and seeking external funding.

Services

We are available for consultation on all aspects of research, including:

  • Grant development
  • Protocol development
  • Study design
  • Sample size calculation
  • Randomization
  • Statistical analysis
  • Dissemination of results
People

Dr. Matthew D. Finkelman is an associate professor and Director of the Division of Biostatistics and Experimental Design at TUSDM.  He has a Ph.D. in Statistics from Stanford University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health prior to joining Tufts. Dr. Finkelman’s research interests include special care in dentistry, opioid misuse, psychometrics, and the design of computer-based questionnaires. He has authored or co-authored over 150 abstracts presented at national and international conferences, as well as over 100 papers published in peer-reviewed journals such as Statistics in Medicine, Psychometrika, the Journal of the American Dental Association, and the New England Journal of Medicine. He was a keynote speaker at the inaugural conference of the International Association of Computerized Adaptive Testing and was inducted into the Robert R. Andrews Research Honor Society in 2012.

Dr. Sarah E. Pagni is an assistant professor in the Division of Biostatistics and Experimental Design. She received a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science with a concentration in microbiology from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai for her dissertation “Phenotypic Analysis of Dengue Virus with Different Epidemic Capacities in Primary Human Cells and Vector Contribution to Infectivity.”  Afterward, she completed an M.P.H. with a concentration in quantitative methods from the Harvard School of Public Health. At TUSDM, Dr. Pagni works with pre-doctoral students, residents, master’s degree candidates, and faculty on research project development and analysis. Dr. Pagni’s research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals including PLoS Pathogens, Immunologic Research and Environmental Microbiology. She was inducted into the Robert R. Andrews Research Honor Society in 2016.

Dr. Shruti Jain is a research analyst in the Division of Biostatistics and Experimental Design. She completed her B.D.S. and practiced public health dentistry in India for two years. She completed her M.P.H. in the focus areas of epidemiology and biostatistics from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and presented her capstone project, “Diseases of Despair mortality: Trends in the residents of New Bedford and Gloucester” at the IFISH 5 conference in St. John’s, Canada. At TUSDM, Dr. Jain works with pre- and post-doctoral students and faculty on research project development and analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to meet with members of the Division?

All of our services are free to the TUSDM community.

What information should investigators provide prior to the first meeting?

If you already have an idea for your project, we would be happy to receive a description of it.  Also, feel free to send along your protocol, relevant literature, or any other materials that you think would be helpful for us to have.  If you do not have anything to send us, that is completely fine as well.

How much lead time should investigators provide to the Division before a deadline?

The amount of required lead time depends on the project.  Generally, for the ADEA and AADR/IADR deadlines, we guarantee help to investigators who provide their final dataset (formatted properly and free of errors) at least two weeks before the analysis is to be completed.  Other deadlines, such as grants, require more lead time and must be determined on a case-by-case basis.

What is the contact information for the Division?

Any requests can be directed to Matthew Finkelman (Matthew.Finkelman@tufts.edu).

Office Hours

Every year, Dr. Finkelman, Dr. Pagni and Dr. Jain hold open office hours prior to the AADR/IADR abstract submission deadline.  All members of the TUSDM community are welcome to attend.

Contact

Please direct all requests to Matthew Finkelman (Matthew.Finkelman@tufts.edu).