Medical Statistics Group
Quantitative thinking is fundamental to most medical research, and the Medical Statistics Group collaborates with all areas of the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research, and with the other schools in the Faculty of Health, and with the wider medical research community.
About the MSG
The Medical Statistics Group (MSG) aims to:
- Develop and maintain a strong portfolio of research in statistical areas relevant to medical and health-related research.
- Collaborate with colleagues to develop and deliver high-quality research, that is recognised both nationally and internationally.
- Develop and deliver excellent quality research-informed teaching relevant to today's students, at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional development levels.
- To contribute to the corporate aims of the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), Faculty and the University and engage with the wider external community to benefit the group, ScHARR and the University.
The Group operates in three main areas: research, teaching and consultancy.
Group Director
Deputy Group Director
Research
The Medical Statistics Group undertakes a broadly based research programme in applied projects and in statistical methodology. The applied work generates methodological questions, and the methodological research feeds back into the applied studies.
The Medical Statistics Group works on the application of statistical methodology to substantive issues in health research. This frequently requires the development of existing and new methodology.
We have strong links with the NHS and collaborate with health researchers across South Yorkshire and beyond. We also work with industrial, national and international partners in the health area.
Some examples of our methodological interests are:
- Clinical trial design and analysis, particularly sample size
- Cluster Randomised trials
- Design, Analysis and interpretation of studies with Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) outcome measures
- Computer intensive methods – the bootstrap
- Health Services Research and Technology Assessment
- Economic Evaluations alongside clinical trials
- Study design and sample size determination
- Time series analysis
- Clinical pharmacology
- Bias in trials
- Epidemiology
Current and completed research projects
UK Rare Disease Research Platform Node. Changing clinical practice in rare diseases through innovative trial designs: the CAPTIVATE node. Billingham L, Homer V, Julious S, Gamble G, Kearns P, Gates S and Barrett T. £1,152,702. 2023.
NIHR Pre-Doctoral Fellowship.. Lee E, Julious SA, Walters SJ. £75,489. 2023.
NIHR Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. Marks F, Jacques RM, Walters SJ, Sutton L. £97,456. 2023.
NIHR Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. Guy Z, Julious SA, Bursnall M. £103,398. 2023.
Latest publications
Salisbury JA, Oakley JE, Julious SA, Hampson LV (2024) Assurance methods for designing a clinical trial with a delayed treatment effect. Statistics in Medicine, 30;43(19):3595-3612.
Totton N, Waddingham E, Owen R, Julious S, Hughes D, Cook J (2024) A proposal for using benefit-risk methods to improve the prominence of adverse event results when reporting trials. Trials 25(1), 409.
Offorha BC, Walters SJ, Jacques RM (2023) Analysing cluster randomised controlled trials using GLMM, GEE1, GEE2, and QIF: results from four case studies. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 23(1),293.
Lewis J, Weich S, O’Keeffe C, Stone T, Hulin J, Bell N, Doyle M, Lucock M, Mason S (2023) Use of urgent, emergency and acute care by mental health service users: a record-level cohort study. PLoS ONE, 18(2).
Teaching
The Medical Statistics Group aims to develop and deliver excellent quality research-informed teaching relevant to today’s students, at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional development levels.
The statisticians’ in the Medical Statistics group teach across a range of modules in the School of Medicine and Population Health:
- MBChB Critical Numbers
- HAR31001: Applied Statistics for Medical and Health Researchers
- HAR6035: Introduction to Statistics and Critical Appraisal
- HAR6042: Introduction to Statistics and Critical Appraisal (Online)
- HAR6045: Further Statistics for Health Science Researchers
- HAR6061:Further Statistics for Health Science Researchers (Online)
- HAR619: Epidemiology
- HAR6048: Epidemiology (Online)
- HAR61003 MSc Statistics with Medical Applications Dissertation
- HAR61003 MSc Statistics with Medical Applications Dissertation (Online)