DECISION MODELING FOR BIOSTATISTICAL APPLICATIONS Biostatistics 140.664

Rationale Syllabus Problem sets Example Presentations

Goals This course will provide students with an overview of the foundations of utility theory and rational decision making, and will encourage them, via examples, to use rational decision making in two arenas: the design and analysis of biomedical experiments; and the solution of practical decision making problems in medicine and public health. Applications include: decision analysis, decision trees, and cost-effectiveness analysis. Plan The course is organized as a cycle of related, but self contained lectures, many of which discuss individual papers --either landmark theoretical papers, or instructive applications. Workload There will be a small problem sets due every week. In addition, students are expected to identify and present to the class a journal article on decision theory, or decision--oriented personal research if they like. Instructor Giovanni Parmigiani gp@jhu.edu Room W3204 Office Hours on Monday from 12 to 2