There are numerous advantages to using Bayesian methods in diagnostic medicine, which is why they are employed more and more today in clinical studies. Exploring Bayesian statistics at an introductory level, Bayesian Biostatistics and Diagnostic Medicine illustrates how to apply these methods to solve important problems in medicine and biology.

The growth of biostatistics has been phenomenal in recent years and has been marked by considerable technical innovation in both methodology and computational practicality. One area that has experienced significant growth is Bayesian methods. The growing use of Bayesian methodology has taken place partly due to an increasing number of practitioners valuing the Bayesian paradigm as matching that of scientific discovery. In addition, computational advances have allowed for more complex models to be fitted routinely to realistic data sets. Through examples, exercises and a combination of introductory and more advanced chapters, this book provides an invaluable understanding of the complex world of biomedical statistics illustrated via a diverse range of applications taken from epidemiology, exploratory clinical studies, health promotion studies, image analysis and clinical trials. Key Features: Provides an authoritative account of Bayesian methodology, from its most basic elements to its practical implementation, with an emphasis on healthcare techniques. Contains introductory explanations of Bayesian principles common to all areas of application. Presents clear and concise examples in biostatistics applications such as clinical trials, longitudinal studies, bioassay, survival, image analysis and bioinformatics. Illustrated throughout with examples using software including WinBUGS, OpenBUGS, SAS and various dedicated R programs. Highlights the differences between the Bayesian and classical approaches. Supported by an accompanying website hosting free software and case study guides. Bayesian Biostatistics introduces the reader smoothly into the Bayesian statistical methods with chapters that gradually increase in level of complexity. Master students in biostatistics, applied statisticians and all researchers with a good background in classical statistics who have interest in Bayesian methods will find this book useful.

Praise for Bayesian Thinking in Biostatistics: "This thoroughly modern Bayesian book ...is a 'must have' as a textbook or a reference volume. Rosner, Laud and Johnson make the case for Bayesian approaches by melding clear exposition on methodology with serious attention to a broad array of illuminating applications. These are activated by excellent coverage of computing methods and provision of code. Their content on model assessment, robustness, data-analytic approaches and predictive assessments...are essential to valid practice. The numerous exercises and professional advice make the book ideal as a text for an intermediate-level course..." -Thomas Louis, Johns Hopkins University "The book introduces all the important topics that one would usually cover in a beginning graduate level class on Bayesian biostatistics. The careful introduction of the Bayesian viewpoint and the mechanics of implementing Bayesian inference in the early chapters makes it a complete self- contained introduction to Bayesian inference for biomedical problems....Another great feature for using this book as a textbook is the inclusion of extensive problem sets, going well beyond construed and simple problems. Many exercises consider real data and studies, providing very useful examples in addition to serving as problems." - Peter Mueller, University of Texas With a focus on incorporating sensible prior distributions and discussions on many recent developments in Bayesian methodologies, Bayesian Thinking in Biostatistics considers statistical issues in biomedical research. The book emphasizes greater collaboration between biostatisticians and biomedical researchers. The text includes an overview of Bayesian statistics, a discussion of many of the methods biostatisticians frequently use, such as rates and proportions, regression models, clinical trial design, and methods for evaluating diagnostic tests. Key Features Applies a Bayesian perspective to applications in biomedical science Highlights advances in clinical trial design Goes beyond standard statistical models in the book by introducing Bayesian nonparametric methods and illustrating their uses in data analysis Emphasizes estimation of biomedically relevant quantities and assessment of the uncertainty in this estimation Provides programs in the BUGS language, with variants for JAGS and Stan, that one can use or adapt for one's own research The intended audience includes graduate students in biostatistics, epidemiology, and biomedical researchers, in general Authors Gary L. Rosner is the Eli Kennerly Marshall, Jr., Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Professor of Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Purushottam (Prakash) W. Laud is Professor in the Division of Biostatistics, and Director of the Biostatistics Shared Resource for the Cancer Center, at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Wesley O. Johnson is professor Emeritus in the Department of Statistics as the University of California, Irvine.

An essential introductory text linking traditional biostatistics with bayesian methods In recent years, Bayesian methods have seen an explosion of interest, with applications in fields including biochemistry, ecology, medicine, oncology, pharmacology, and public health. As an interpretive system integrating data with observation, the Bayesian approach provides a nuanced yet mathematically rigorous means of conceptualizing biomedical statistics–from diagnostic tests to DNA evidence. Biostatistics: A Bayesian Introduction offers a pioneering approach by presenting the foundations of biostatistics through the Bayesian lens. Using easily understood, classic Dutch Book thought experiments to derive subjective probability from a simple principle of rationality, the book connects statistical science with scientific reasoning. The author shows how to compute, interpret, and report Bayesian statistical analyses in practice, and illustrates how to reinterpret traditional statistical reporting–such as confidence intervals, margins of error, and one-sided p-values–in Bayesian terms. Topics covered include: Probability and subjective probability Distributions and descriptive statistics Continuous probability distributions Comparing rates and means Linear models and statistical adjustment Logistic regression and adjusted odds ratios Survival analysis Hierarchical models and meta-analysis Decision theory and sample size determination The book includes extensive problem sets and references in each chapter, as well as complete instructions on computer analysis with the versatile SAS and WinBUGS software packages as well as the Excel spreadsheet program. For professionals and students, Biostatistics: A Bayesian Introduction offers an unique, real-world entry point into a remarkable alternative method of interpreting statistical data.

Praise for the First Edition " . . . the book is a valuable addition to the literature in the field, serving as a much-needed guide for both clinicians and advanced students."—Zentralblatt MATH A new edition of the cutting-edge guide to diagnostic tests in medical research In recent years, a considerable amount of research has focused on evolving methods for designing and analyzing diagnostic accuracy studies. Statistical Methods in Diagnostic Medicine, Second Edition continues to provide a comprehensive approach to the topic, guiding readers through the necessary practices for understanding these studies and generalizing the results to patient populations. Following a basic introduction to measuring test accuracy and study design, the authors successfully define various measures of diagnostic accuracy, describe strategies for designing diagnostic accuracy studies, and present key statistical methods for estimating and comparing test accuracy. Topics new to the Second Edition include: Methods for tests designed to detect and locate lesions Recommendations for covariate-adjustment Methods for estimating and comparing predictive values and sample size calculations Correcting techniques for verification and imperfect standard biases Sample size calculation for multiple reader studies when pilot data are available Updated meta-analysis methods, now incorporating random effects Three case studies thoroughly showcase some of the questions and statistical issues that arise in diagnostic medicine, with all associated data provided in detailed appendices. A related web site features Fortran, SAS®, and R software packages so that readers can conduct their own analyses. Statistical Methods in Diagnostic Medicine, Second Edition is an excellent supplement for biostatistics courses at the graduate level. It also serves as a valuable reference for clinicians and researchers working in the fields of medicine, epidemiology, and biostatistics.

Using WinBUGS to implement Bayesian inferences of estimation and testing hypotheses, Bayesian Methods for Measures of Agreement presents useful methods for the design and analysis of agreement studies. It focuses on agreement among the various players in the diagnostic process.The author employs a Bayesian approach to provide statistical inferences

Statistical evaluation of diagnostic performance in general and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis in particular are important for assessing the performance of medical tests and statistical classifiers, as well as for evaluating predictive models or algorithms. This book presents innovative approaches in ROC analysis, which are releva

Survival analysis arises in many fields of study including medicine, biology, engineering, public health, epidemiology, and economics. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of Bayesian survival analysis. It presents a balance between theory and applications, and for each class of models discussed, detailed examples and analyses from case studies are presented whenever possible. The applications are all from the health sciences, including cancer, AIDS, and the environment.

This book describes statistical techniques for the design and evaluation of research studies on medical diagnostic tests, screening tests, biomarkers and new technologies for classification and prediction in medicine.

This is the first book designed to introduce Bayesian inference procedures for stochastic processes. There are clear advantages to the Bayesian approach (including the optimal use of prior information). Initially, the book begins with a brief review of Bayesian inference and uses many examples relevant to the analysis of stochastic processes, including the four major types, namely those with discrete time and discrete state space and continuous time and continuous state space. The elements necessary to understanding stochastic processes are then introduced, followed by chapters devoted to the Bayesian analysis of such processes. It is important that a chapter devoted to the fundamental concepts in stochastic processes is included. Bayesian inference (estimation, testing hypotheses, and prediction) for discrete time Markov chains, for Markov jump processes, for normal processes (e.g. Brownian motion and the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process), for traditional time series, and, lastly, for point and spatial processes are described in detail. Heavy emphasis is placed on many examples taken from biology and other scientific disciplines. In order analyses of stochastic processes, it will use R and WinBUGS. Features: Uses the Bayesian approach to make statistical Inferences about stochastic processes The R package is used to simulate realizations from different types of processes Based on realizations from stochastic processes, the WinBUGS package will provide the Bayesian analysis (estimation, testing hypotheses, and prediction) for the unknown parameters of stochastic processes To illustrate the Bayesian inference, many examples taken from biology, economics, and astronomy will reinforce the basic concepts of the subject A practical approach is implemented by considering realistic examples of interest to the scientific community WinBUGS and R code are provided in the text, allowing the reader to easily verify the results of the inferential procedures found in the many examples of the book Readers with a good background in two areas, probability theory and statistical inference, should be able to master the essential ideas of this book.