Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific Computing

The Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific Computing is committed to applying the highest standard of epidemiological and biostatistical research methods, leveraging the highest quality research computing resources. Through collaborative research projects and services, we strive for the highest impact on clinical outcomes, population health and health services research to improve the health of the whole community.

Publications:
Publication Highlights for epidemiology section:
•Altwaijri, Y., Kazdin, A.E., Al-Subaie, A. et al. Lifetime prevalence and treatment of mental disorders in Saudi youth and adolescents. Sci Rep 13, 6186 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33005-5
•Altwaijri, Y., Bilal, L., Almeharish, A., BinMuammar, A., DeVol, E., Hyder, S., ... & Almatrafi, R. (2022). Psychological distress reported by healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. PloS one, 17(6), e0268976.
•Altwaijri YA, Puac-Polanco V, Al-Subaie AS, et al. The comparative importance of mental and physical disorders for health-related days out of role in the general population of Saudi Arabia. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):289. Published 2022 Feb 12. doi:10.1186/s12889-022-12721-z
•Altwaijri, Y. A., Al-Subaie, A. S., Al-Habeeb, A., Galea, S., Akkad, M., Naseem, M. T., & Bilal, L. (2023). Urbanization and mental health: A perspective from Riyadh City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The International journal of social psychiatry, 207640231152202. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00207640231152202
•Alouffi S, Khan MWA, Alotabi N, et al. Correlations between Direct and Calculated Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Measurements in Children and Adolescents. J Clin Lab Anal. 2020;34(6):e23236. doi:10.1002/jcla.23236
Publication Highlights for biostatistics section:
•Effects of High Serum Electrolyte Levels on Rates of Termination of Multi-chamber Bag Parenteral Nutrition" Hakeam Hakeam, Dr. Muhannad, Gamal Mohamed, Asma Shahrani, Dr. Islami The manuscript was accepted in Hospital Pharmacy, it is Q2 Journal.
•Essam Alshail, Maysoon Alsagob, Ahmed Nasser Alahmari, Hindi Al-Hindi, Hala Khalil, Anas A M Dababo, Zainab Al Masseri, Razan Alsalamah, Ethar Almohseny, Amjad Alduhaish, Dilek Colak and Namik Kaya “A molecular study of pediatric pilomyxoid and pilocytic astrocytomas: Genome-wide copy number screening, retrospective analysis of clinicopathological features and long-term clinical outcome”. Accepted. Frontiers in Oncology
•Malak H Aldosari, Ahmed Saleh, Abdubadie Kutubi, Asma F Al-Ruhaimi, Yara E Bashawri, Arwa K Althubyani, Raneem Saleh, Hala Khalil. “An Evaluation and management of hirsutism in public vs private outpatient departments in Saudi Arabia”. Accepted. Journal of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery.
•Saleh, R. A., Alsaleh, M., Khalil, H. “Blood donations by doctors – donation practices may vary by specialty”. Indian Journal of Hematology and Blood Transfusion. August 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12288-022-01551-z
•Performance of the EULAR/ACR 2019 classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematous in monogenic lupus Sulaiman M Al-Mayouf, Lujayn Akbar, Reem Abdwani, Giulia Ginesi, Stefano Volpi, Marco Gattorno, Reima Bakry, Samia AlHashim, Alhanouf Alsaleem Clinical Rheumatology (Accepted)

Workshops/Training Sessions provided by the BESC:
•Epidemiology Section Webinar on “Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic”, hosting speakers from Harvard University, Yale University and the WHO Regional Representative for Mental Health which provided valuable information on the most pressing mental health issues during the pandemic that need to be addressed.
•Extensive two-week Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI)training which teaches interviewers and supervisors the General Interview Technique and prepares them on how to collect high quality data in the fieldwork. More than 150 interviewers have been trained and certified.
•Educational course and workshop on “Basic research skills” designed to provide participants with knowledge for preparing research proposals and understanding research design and methods.
•Statistical Analysis System (SAS) workshops in collaboration with Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
•REDCap training course designed to provide beginners and advanced users with the necessary skills for application.
•General Interviewer Technique training sessions
•Organization of the KFSH&RC Mental Health Hackathon, which was part of the largest MIT Hacking Medicine – Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with KACST.
•Launching the Research Concierge booth in KFSHRC.
•The design and implementation of the BESC Wellness Program, a comprehensive pilot health initiative for our employees. It is primarily designed to increase the overall health of an individual in the workplace.

List of focus areas 
•Biostatistics
•Epidemiology
•Scientific Computing

Biostatistics Section
•The Biostatistics Section is collaborating extensively with various departments in the hospital as well as other individuals within the Kingdom. The research projects are related to development and application of statistical and computational techniques to better understand human diseases and the mechanisms underlying them.

Scientific Computing Section
•The Scientific Computing Section provides and maintains up-to-date computing facilities for use in scientific research and develops and maintains database applications to support research activities and related projects. It Maintains REDCap application and provides end User services for REDCap application.

Epidemiology Section
•The Epidemiology Section conducts timely and rigorous hospital and population based epidemiological research using advanced tools and reliable quantitative methods aimed at reducing individual health risks and improve the overall wellbeing of the population. We collaborate with national and international institutions to leverage our resources to identify and develop innovative solutions for modern-day health problems.

list of Services
•Conducts outstanding peer-reviewed research initiated by departmental members
•Provides statistical consultancy and data clinics to clinicians, scientists, residents, fellows and administration. 
•Offers statistical training courses and practical training sessions in the use of statistical software packages to improve the statistical knowledge among clinicians, scientists, postgraduate students, and fellows.
•Provides data by developing and hosting disease and treatment registries together with cohort identification tools.
•Provides and maintains user support for hardware, software and server maintenance through ‘Service hub’ requests.
•Provides and maintains up-to-date computing facilities for use in scientific research.
•Keeps REDCap platform up and running for all hospital researchers, clinicians, and trainee.
•Provides an internship program for Princess Noura Unviersity students majoring in epidemiology.

Career opportunities 
The BESC is staffed with biostatisticians, epidemiologists, research data managers, and scientific/technical programmers.