Seminar Series: Dr. Shirin Golchi

Bayesian Design of Clinical Trials

Shirin Golchi

Associate Professor
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
McGill University

Short Biography:
Dr. Shirin Golchi is an Associate Professor in Biostatistics at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University. Her research interests are broadly Bayesian inference and computation with a focus on Bayesian design and analysis of clinical trials. Specific topics covered by her research program include efficient assessment of design operating characteristics, precision methods for clinical trials and statistical methods for flexible and innovative trial designs.

Abstract:
Design and sample size determination in clinical trials has traditionally relied on the frequentist hypothesis testing framework. Sample size determination may be performed analytically when the sampling distribution of the test statistic is known and, therefore, the power function is available in analytic form. Bayesian methods have gained popularity in the design, analysis and decision making in clinical trials. Typically, Bayesian decision procedures rely on posterior summaries whose sampling distributions are estimated via Monte Carlo simulations. A Bayesian approach toward the design of clinical trials incorporates uncertainty about the design value(s) instead of conditioning on a single value of the model parameter(s). Accounting for uncertainties in the design value(s) is particularly critical in multi-parameter models and in complex designs. A major barrier in taking a Bayesian approach at the design stage are computational challenges in evaluation of Bayesian operating characteristics. In this talk, I will present recent methodological developments that enable scalable Bayesian design in clinical trials with complex designs and multi-parameter analysis models.

Area of Research:
Bayesian modelling and computation, Bayesian sample size determination, Bayesian adaptive trials

Website

Date: Friday, September 25
Time: 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Location: PHFM 3015 (Western Centre for Public Health and Family Medicine) or Zoom (request  link by email   epibio@uwo.ca )