Brian Meyers, MD

I am an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, and I am currently enrolled in the School of Public Health at St. Louis University with a concentration in biostatistics. Throughout my surgical training and in the three years since completion of all formal training, it has become quite apparent to me that a command of biostatistics is a valuable asset for a practicing surgeon. A great deal of my time spent out of the operating room requires a strong knowledge in biostatistics and clinical trial design. While the informal training I have received along the way has served me adequately, I am currently improving my knowledge of biostatistics in a formal fashion at St. Louis University.

In my first three years on the faculty at Washington University I have had the opportunity to author or coauthor multiple papers on clinical outcomes of various aspects of thoracic surgery. The process of writing these papers and of rewriting them at the request of peer reviews from various journals has forced me to revisit the field of statistics. What I have concluded is that surgeons in general are under-trained when it comes to the analysis of biostatistical data. I see an opportunity for myself both to bring my skills up to speed and to eventually become a leader and an educator within my community of surgeons. Also, I see myself transitioning into a new phase in my writing career. While the first two years have found me mainly performing retrospective reviews of outcomes already achieved, I am currently focusing my efforts into developing prospective clinical trials to test hypotheses on an ongoing basis. I believe the formal training I would receive while obtaining an MPH in biostatistics would greatly further that goal of my career.

One of my missions in my current position is the education of cardiothoracic surgical trainees and general surgical trainees. I find that as deficient as fully trained surgeons may be in biostatistics, our trainees are even more lacking in fundamentals of biostatistical analysis. I see a wide open territory for me to establish a niche in my university and in my field as an educator of surgical trainees in the correct application of biostatistics.

My current plan is to pursue the degree requirements for a Masters in Public Health in the biostatistical concentration on the part-time study basis for the coming academic year. I am fortunate to have the support of my colleagues in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery to allow the time to achieve this goal. I believe this is an important step for my personal development as an academic surgeon and it will provide me an area of expertise that is lacking in most peers. I am enjoying the return to the classroom as I now reach the fifteenth anniversary since completion of medical school.