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  1. NCTR Research Offices and Divisions

NCTR Division of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Also referred to as: DBB


Division Director: Weida Tong, Ph.D.
Bioinformatics Branch Chief: Huixiao Hong, Ph.D.
Biostatistics Branch Chief: Dong Wang, Ph.D.
R2R Branch Chief: Joshua Xu, Ph.D.
Scientific Computing Branch Chief: Edward Bearden, Ph.D

Meet the Principal Investigators — Biostatistics & Bioinformatics

About the Division

Mission

Develop integrated bioinformatics and biostatistics capability to address increasing needs of FDA product centers in areas such as biomarker development, drug safety, drug repositioning, precision medicine, artificial intelligence (AI), rare diseases, endocrine disruptors, and risk assessment.
 

Branches Within the Division

 

Artificial Intelligence for Regulatory Science Research

Watch the Recorded Presentation

DBB projects and related works in 2021 resulted in 30 peer-reviewed research and review articles and one book chapter, many of which will be key milestones in better achieving both NCTR’s and FDA’s missions.

Select Division Accomplishments in 2021

In 2021, the Division focused on harnessing the benefits of big data and AI to support and advance regulatory science. Some of the important projects included:

  • Informed drug selection and combination of FDA-approved drugs for COVID-19 treatment using AI.
  • Studied drug-induced liver injury (DILI) to support FDA review. 
  • Developed knowledge base for opioid crisis. 
  • Performed characterization of different next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies for precision medicine.
  • Studied clinical implication of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) using real world data and AI.
  • Supported regulatory application requested by other FDA centers.
  • Submitted several proposals to the FDA intramural grant solicitation with a broad range of topics such as racial disparities in critical care patients, DILI risk associated with herbal medicine and dietary supplements, and computation strategies and approaches to combat COVID-19.
  • Published research including drug repositioning for rare diseases and ways to combat present and future pandemics in numerous prestigious journals including Nature Biotechnology and Genome Biology.

Ongoing Research Projects

The Division’s research programs are designed and aligned with its mission. Research is ongoing in the following five focus areas:


Resources for You




Contact Us

Contact Point
NCTR Bioinformatics Support
National Center for Toxicological Research
Food and Drug Administration
3900 NCTR Rd
Jefferson, AR 72079
Hours Available
[email protected]
(870) 543-7538

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