Penn Veterinary Medicine | University of Pennsylvania

Description of Research Expertise

The Biostatistics Section of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine (New Bolton Center) has three focuses: 1) the application of mathematical modeling to the analysis and interpretation of biomedical and agricultural data, 2) the application of statistics to the design and investigation of clinical trials, and field experiments, and 3) the development of new computer methods for the management, processing and analysis of biomedical data, and for the instruction of students (particularly veterinary students) in clinical methods, epidemiological techniques, and disease pathologies.

At the heart of the efforts of members of this section is salvaging the knowledge derived from, often animal intensive, investigations and re-purposing, or re-packaging, it into environments that make it available for investigators from diverse areas to build upon. In this way veterinary students, agricultural producers and biomedical investigators can apply the knowledge confident that the application environment protects them against mis-application.

Selected Publications

F Toth, N Frank, T Martin-Jimenez, SB Elliott, RJ Geor and RC Boston: Measurement of C-peptide concentrations and responses to somatostatin, glucose infusion, and insulin resistance in horses. Equine Veterinary Journal 42(2): 149-155. PMCID 20156251, Feb 2010.

Volpe V, Cant JP, Boston RC, et al. : Development of a dynamic mathematical model for investigating mammary gland metabolism in lactating cows. Journal of Agric. Sci. 148(1): 31-54, Feb 2010.

Tedeschi LO and Boston R: Identifiability and accuracy: a closer look at contemporary contributions and changes in these vital areas of mathematical modelling. Modelling nutrient digestion and utilisation in farm animals. Page: 91-99, D. Sauvant, J. Van Milgen, P. Faverdin and N. Friggens (eds.). Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2010.

Meier S, Roche JR, Kolver ES, Boston RC: A compartmental model describing changes in progesterone concentrations during the oestrous cycle. The Journal of Dairy Research 76(2): 249-56, May 2009.

Boston RC, Pei D, Moate PJ: A numerical deconvolution method to estimate C-peptide secretion in humans after an intravenous glucose tolerance test. Metabolism 58(7): 891-900, Jul 2009.

Boston RC and Moate PJ: A Noval Minimal Model to describe NEFA kinetics following an intravenous glucose challenge. American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 294(4): R1140-7, Jan 2008.