BHF Centre for Research Excellence Inaugural Seminar - 21st November 2024

George Davey-Smith presents: "Everywhere and nowhere: why massive cohort studies have failed to identify more modifiable causes of disease"

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21 Nov 2024, 17:00 – 18:30

Jeffrey Hall
Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way
London
WC1H 0AL
United Kingdom

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George Davey-Smith (University of Bristol) will present the inaugural seminar for the BHF Centre of Research Excellence, with an introduction from Professor Perry Elliott.

Everywhere and nowhere: why massive cohort studies have failed to identify more modifiable causes of disease

A high proportion of disease globally is preventable in principle – i.e. we know that environmental factors which could theoretically be modified underlie them - but they are not preventable in practice, because the factors involved have not been identified. This is despite the establishment internationally and over many years of large-scale cohort studies, considered to be the most robust epidemiological study design. This talk will demonstrate the extent of the mismatch between what could and what is being prevented and discuss why current approaches are unlikely to close the gap. Potentially more fruitful epidemiological approaches which will require a rethinking of basic principles will be presented.

This follows on from a series of successful seminars George has presented at UCL, regularly attracting almost 1000 registrations of interest. This event will take place at Jeffrey Hall at IOE from 5pm on Thursday 21st November and via Zoom Webinar.

Registration is essential.

George Davey-Smith

Professor

University of Bristol

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George Davey Smith is a clinical epidemiologist who has focused on methods for improving causal inference in studies of disease aetiology and disease prevention. His work has involved early implementation of ‘negative controls’ in epidemiological studies, the use of cross-context comparisons, sensitivity analyses, unobtrusive data collection methods and randomized trials in thought-to-be difficult situations. He pioneered the use of germline genetic variants for investigating modifiable causes of disease (‘Mendelian randomization’), developed several extensions of the basic method, and contributed to its application in many settings. He is an advocate of the pre-specified application of a range of methods, with different structures of potential biases, to the same question (‘triangulation’), as the key approach to strengthening causal inference. Throughout his career he has promoted
increasing the accessibility of data, and implemented this in studies he has led, including the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and their Children (ALSPAC).