Seminar Series in Quantitative Life Sciences and Medicine

"SMART studies: An Evidence-Based approach to Precision Medicine"

Erica Moodie (McGill University)
Tuesday December 11, 12-1pm
McIntyre Medical Building, Room 1027

Abstract: As our population ages, chronic conditions and multiple co-morbidities may lead to more complex treatment needs, where a "one size fits all" model of treatment is not appropriate. Instead, health care -- whether preventative, curative, or aimed at symptom management -- must be adapted over time to individual patients’ evolving needs. In this presentation, I will introduce the Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART), an experimental design specifically developed for testing and exploring optimal treatment strategies for precision medicine. The need for such trials, and their potential advantages and drawbacks, will be discussed and several examples will be considered.