Statistical Contributions to Molecular Biology

Developments in the field of statistics often parallel or follow technological developments in the sciences to which statistical methods may be fruitfully applied. Because practitioners of the statistical arts often address particular applied problems, methods development is consequently motivated by the search for an answer to an applied question of interest. The field of molecular biology is one area in which this relationship holds true. Even so, growth in application of statistical methods for addressing molecular biology problems has not kept pace with technological developments in the laboratory. Although the story of statistical contributions to the field of molecular biology is still unfolding, a consideration of its history can bring valuable insight into the hurdles—both technical and cultural—still to be overcome in interfacing the two fields. This is especially important given that recent technological advances have created a need for closer interaction among biologists and statisticians. Such considerations also motivated the selection of chapters for this text on statistical methods in molecular biology.