Biostatistics Seminar: Dr. Robert Platt - Methodological Challenges in Drug Safety Research: the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies.

Abstract:

The Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES) is a national network funded by CIHR to conduct a series of collaborative, multi-year studies that will gauge the actual effects of prescription drugs on those who use them.  CNODES has assembled administrative data from most provinces, along with the UK CPRD and a US database.  CNODES studies, usually designed to assess comparative safety of medications, are conducted using a common protocol distributed to the sites, followed by a meta-analysis.  The CNODES methods team was established to support ongoing CNODES studies, and to conduct research on statistical and epidemiologic methods in pharmacoepidemiology.  I will briefly review the structure of CNODES, and then outline several ongoing statistical research projects being conducted by the methods team.

Bio:

Robert Platt is Professor in the departments of Pediatrics and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill University.  He received a BSc in Mathematics from McGill, an MSc in Statistics from the University of Manitoba, and MS and PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Washington, and joined McGill in 1996.  Dr. Platt was director of the Biostatistics program from 2006-2012, and is currently the Associate Director (Biostatistics and Data Management) of the Centre for Innovative Medicine at the McGill University Health Centre and co-PI and leader of the methods team for the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies.  His research interests centre on causal inference in epidemiologic studies, with emphasis on pediatric and perinatal epidemiology as well as pharmacoepidemiology.