DA  Research Team

James Norton, PhD

Dr. Norton has been Director of Biostatistics at the Carolinas Medical Center since 1990. His work has cut across a number of topics and Departments at CMC. He has analyzed data from clinical trials of sodium bicarbonate to prevent contrast induced nephropathy, amoxicillin prophylaxis for dental procedures, and a non-inferiority trial, once daily versus twice daily amoxicillin for pediatric streptococcal pharyngitis. In emergency medicine, he has analyzed data regarding patient outcomes after implementation of a new stroke protocol, predicting patient outcomes for patients with a pulmonary embolism, and regarding the use of ultra-sound in the emergency department. In the area of cancer, topics for publication have included trends in breast conservation, new staging strategies for Stage III colon and rectal cancer and methods of biopsy for melanoma. In the surgical area, he has helped evaluate patient outcomes following cardiac bypass surgery, trauma surgery and laparoscopic surgery. In the basic sciences, he has co-authored a number of papers concerning disc-degeneration in both humans and the sand rat model. 

 

In the field of education, he has won several national awards for his presentations on improving statistical education for undergraduate biology students and medical  residents. He was the recipient of the Best Contributed Paper from American Statistical Association Teaching in the Health Sciences Section (2007 and 2009) and Statistical Education Section (2006 and 1998).  He has also received Faculty Teaching Awards from Carolinas Institute for Rehabilitation (2003) and the Dental Residency Program from Carolinas Medical Center (1993). He has written chapters on statistics and epidemiology for a text book for surgical residents reviewing for the American Board of Surgery In-training Examinations. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Surgical Oncology. He was a reviewer for the Orthopedic Clinical Trial Peer Review Panel for the Department of Defense.