When worlds collide - Common methodological themes in meta-analysis, causal inference, and hybrid trial design

After a splendid week in Copenhagen, sheltering myself from the furnace-like conditions of Madrid in August, I found refuge in the 46th Conference of the International Society for Clinical Biostatistics (ISCB) in Basel, Switzerland. I spoke in the invited session “When worlds collide: Common methodological themes in meta-analysis, causal inference, and hybrid trial design” along with Issa J. Dahabreh (Harvard University) and Satrajit Roychoudhury (Pfizer). I presented some recent work with Harlan Campbell (University of British Columbia) on a joint causal inference framework for estimators in externally controlled single-arm trials and indirect treatment comparisons.

The session was chaired by David M. Phillippo (Bristol University) and Lisa Hampson (Novartis), and followed by a panel discussion. Later in the day, I chaired a session on “Meta-analysis 1”, with some exciting presentations by Adriani Nikolakopoulou, Sofia Tsokani, Theodoros Evrenoglou, Tianqi Yu and Kanella Panagiotopoulou. I finished the conference taking part in a discussion panel on causal inference for improved clinical collaborations, alongside Stijn Vansteelandt (University of Ghent), Emily Granger (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), Giusi Moffa (University of Basel) and Tim Morris (Novartis).