The link below is to an article that gives some background to the field of biostatistics and a description of the current shortfall in supply of well trained biostatisticians.

"The image of a statistician toiling away in obscurity behind a computer after being handed a pile of data could not be farther from the truth. Almost every biostatistician plays a crucial role in a team of researchers..."

It should be noted that entry requirements for the BCA program include an undergraduate degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Science, Psychology, Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Economics, Health Sciences or other appropriate discipline (not just biology and chemistry, as discussed in the article).

Further articles of interest

"The professional performance of statistical analyses is essential to many aspects of society. The use of statistics in medical diagnoses and biomedical research may affect whether individuals live or die, whether their health is protected or jeopardised, and whether medical science advances or gets sidetracked..."

"A shortage of statisticians could delay future health and drug research, a leading Australian researcher warns..."  LINK

"The Training of Biostatistical Scientists"  PDF

"Statistically Significant"  PDF

"What is published in scientific journals may not be as true as it should be..." LINK

"Statistics is a difficult topic to teach and learn and there is ample evidence that its application is often faulty in medicine [1-6] as well as in many other scientific disciplines." LINK

"Reporting guidelines are needed for observational epidemiology..."  LINK