Presenter: Alexander Mitrophanov, PhD, Senior Statistician, ABCS/FNLCR (Frederick, MD)

In his seminal 2001 paper, the famous statistician Leo Breiman juxtaposed the inferential approach and the predictive approach to statistical analysis. I will begin this lecture with an overview of these two approaches. Then, I will illustrate the difference between them using examples from bioinformatics and biomedical diagnostics. I will then delve deeper into the similarities and differences between these two approaches and will use regression as the main example. I will emphasize that, while some statistical models can be both predictive and inferential, the recommended methodological approach is to choose the analysis goal (inference or prediction) in advance and then plan the data collection and analysis accordingly. I will conclude by making the point that both statistical approaches – inferential and predictive – are useful tools in biological data analysis. Beginner knowledge of statistics is expected, intermediate or advanced is preferred.

This will be a hybrid event. To register, please visit the following link: Registration

This session will be recorded, and materials will be shared with attendees a few days after the event.

For additional details and questions, please contact Natasha Pacheco (natasha.pacheco@nih.gov), Advanced Biomedical Computational Science group, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.