Dr. Somnath Datta Awarded Third NIH Grant

Dr. Somnath Datta, professor, along with his colleagues Drs. Gaskins of University of Louisville, and Levy from University of Iowa, has been awarded a research grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is the overall Principal Investigator (P.I.) on the project entitled “Longitudinal Analysis of Iowa Fluoride Study Data, Including Age Twenty-three”. This is Dr. Datta’s third P.I. level research grant which has been awarded since he arrived at the University of Florida Department of Biostatistics as a pre-eminent hire in 2015.

According to Dr. Datta, first and foremost, this work will enrich biostatistics methodological research in statistical regression models for longitudinal count and ordinal data. These novel methods will be applied to integrate multiyear caries and fluorosis data, including at age twenty-three, to uncover new insights that are undetectable using the simpler and statistically less efficient approaches previously undertaken for analyzing various parts of the Iowa Fluoride Study data. Our research will have measurable impact on improving oral and dental health.