Conference Programme
Please see our ISCB43 Programme Overview here.
President's invited speaker

Keynote speaker

Invited sessions
- Master Protocols - James Wason (Newcastle University), Franz König (Medical University Vienna), Mary Redman (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center), Emily Zabor (Cleveland Clinic)
- Machine learning with small data - Manuela Zucknick (University of Oslo), Wessel van Wieringen (Amsterdam University Medical Centers), Moritz Hess (University Freiburg)
- Bayesian nonparametrics and machine learning for causal inference - Jason Roy (Rutgers University), Stijn Vansteelandt (Ghent University), Alex Luedtke (University of Washington),
- Semi-competing risks and causal inference - Daniel Scharfstein (Johns Hopkins), Linda Valeri (Columbia University), Mats Strensrud (EPFL),
Discussant: Els Goetghebeur ( Ghent University)
- Ageing - Andrew Clegg (University of Leeds), Mar Rodriguez Girondo (Leiden University), Joris Deelen (Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing)
Discussant: Jeanine Houwing-Duistermaat (University of Bologna)
- Best practices in statistical simulation and computing - Anne-Laure Boulesteix (Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich), Tim Morris (UCL), Beth Ann Griffin (RAND)
Conference topics
Key topics:
- Efficient clinical trial designs
- Machine learning methods for health
- Bayesian nonparametric methods
- (Semi-)competing risks and causal inference
- Ageing
- Communicating statistical methods
- Simulation studies
Further topics:
- High dimensional data
- Prediction models
- Joint models for high dimensional data
- Medical device clinical studies
- Biomarker discovery
- Personalized medicine
- Missing data
- Meta-analysis
- Statistical software
- Statistical education
- Other
Social Events
Welcome Reception 22nd August
On the evening on the 22nd of August, there was an an informal drinks reception with light refreshments taking place at the conference venue. The event is free to attend for anyone registered for the conference.
Conference Dinner 24th August
There was a conference dinner taking place at the Civic Centre in Newcastle on the 24th August from 7pm until late. There was a 3 course meal, drinks and entertainment. We had a fantastic Ceilidh band organised for the evening. A Ceilidh Band is a traditional folk band with a caller that will walk you through a series of dance moves!
Virtual social events 22nd and 24th August
On Monday 22nd August 5.15-6pm UK (BST) there was a hosted informal networking sessions for our virtual attendees.
On Wednesday 24th August 7pm-7.45pm UK (BST) we had a local history of Newcastle virtual session. You will find this session link on the online portal. It is free to attend.
Meet the story of Coal to Culture – a story of Romans in Northern Britain, Anglo Saxon visitors, Viking raids, Norman conquest and, all put together, the story of the Geordies!
Explore Newcastle’s vibrant history and how it became one of the hotbeds of British history, understand the power of King Coal and how the city worked its way from lost industries to a cultural capital!
Discover past, present and future during this fun 45-minute talk.
Pre conference courses
21 August
Separate fees apply for all pre-conference courses. You can book these at the time of booking your delegate place. See the registration page for more details on the cost.
Note that all pre-conference courses will be delivered in person, face to face in Newcastle with no virtual joining option. Should the whole conference become virtual only, the pre-conference courses will also move online.
Introduction to Machine learning for health questions - FULL DAY
Presenter: Dr Paul Kirk (MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge), Leiv Ronneberg (MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge)
Design and Analysis of Precision Medicine trials - FULL DAY
Presenter: Prof James Wason (Newcastle University) and Haiyan Zheng (University of Cambridge)
Statistical integration of multiple omics datasets using OmicsPLS - HALF DAY
Presenter: Said el Bouhaddani, (UMC Utrecht) and Jeanine Houwing-Duistermaat (University of Bologna)
Introduction to the tidyverse - HALF DAY
Presenter: Prof John Thompson (University of Leicester)
Poster submission
This is now closed.
Social Excursions
23 August afternoon
We are delighted to have organised some exciting options to enable delegates to explore the area around Newcastle upon Tyne and the wider North East of England. Delegates can view details of available excursions below, and can book and pay directly with the provider. Please note that all our excursions do require a minimum number of bookings in order to go ahead.
City walks around Newcastle Gateshead
The City Highlights walking tour duration will be 90 minutes from 2pm, meeting at Grey's Monument in the city centre of Newcastle.
£7.50 per person
Victoria tunnels tour
Discover the hidden heritage under Newcastle - an underground waggonway built to carry coal and reused as an air raid shelter for thousands of citizens during World War Two. We will kit you out with a helmet and a torch and our expert guide will lead you on an award-winning experience. Delegates will make their own way to the Ouseburn area of Newcastle for this tour. More details and directions here.
£9 per person.
Hadrian's wall
Discover Hadrian's Wall and immerse yourself during this tour experience taking you to some of the highlights along Hadrian's Wall with a knowledgeable tour guide by your side. Tour includes return coach travel from Newcastle University, and entry to Vindolanda.
£35 per person
On Thursday 25 August 2022, the last day of the 43rd annual conference of the ISCB, the Early Career Biostatisticians’ (ECB) Day will take place. The focus of the ECB day is to discuss challenges faced when working as statisticians and conducting biostatistical research. We welcome all ISCB conference participants, regardless of their career stage, to attend.
Sunday, August 21st, 2022
Student/ECB Gathering at North Terrace Pub (22-26 Claremont Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AN) from 5:30pm – 7pm (Free pizza and first drink!)
Thursday, August 25th, 2022
Time (in BST) | Presenter | Title of Talk | Format |
9:00 – 9:45 | John Matthews (invited speaker) | Biostatistics: always changing, always staying the same | In-person |
9:45 – 10:00 | Heather Poad | Experiences from a systematic review of pharmacological therapies in colorectal cancer | In-person |
10:00 – 10:15 | Alessandro Gasparini | Getting Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable... as an Early Career Biostatistician | In-person |
10:15 – 10:30 | Jeroen Mulder | Navigating statistical methods across different disciplines | In-person |
10:30 – 11:00 | BREAK | ||
11:00 – 11:15 | Myra McGuinness | Peer Review Process for Manuscripts | Remote |
11:15 – 11:30 | Judith ter Schure | What can biostatisticians do to reduce research waste? | In-person |
11:30 – 12:15 | Noah Haber (invited speaker) | Causation and collaboration: making of a 48-person, 1000+ article, systematic interdisciplinary evaluation exploring the state of causal language in health research | Remote |
12:15 – 12:30 | panel discussion/Q&A |
Registration
The registration fee for the main conference covers the ECB day. It is possible to register for the ECB day only and the cost is £35. Tickets can be booked via this link.
There are 2 mini-symposium taking place on the 25th August
Mini-symposium of the STRengthening Analytical Thinking for Observational Studies (STRATOS) initiative
Organizers: Willi Sauerbrei (Freiburg, Germany) and Ruth Keogh (London, UK)
Agenda
9.00 – 9.05: Short introduction and overview of the program - Ruth Keogh
9.05 – 9.30: Check what is missing with initial data analysis - Lara Lusa (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Kate Lee, Carsten Schmidt, Marianne Huebner
Topic Group: “Initial Data Analysis“ (TG3)
9.30-9.55: A comparison of three popular methods for handling missing data: complete-case analysis, inverse probability weighting, and multiple imputation - Roderick Little, James Carpenter (London, UK), Katherine Lee
Topic Group: “Missing data” (TG1)
9.55 – 10.20: Berkson measurement error and the regression calibration approach - Victor Kipnis (NCI, USA), Laurence Freedman and Pamela Shaw
Topic Group: “Measurement Error and Misclassification” (TG4)
10.20 – 10.45: Comparison of Multivariable Fractional Polynomials with Splines and Penalised Spines - Aris Perperoglou (Newcastle, UK), Daniela Dunkler, Christine Wallisch, Matthias Schmid, Patrick Royston and Willi Sauerbrei
Topic Group: “ Selection of variables and functional forms in multivariable analysis“ (TG2)
10.45 – 11.00: Break
11.00 – 11.25: Validation of prediction models in the presence of competing risks - Nan van Geloven (Leiden, The Netherlands)
A collaborative project of Topic Groups “Evaluating diagnostic tests and prediction models” (TG6) and “Survival analysis” (TG8)
11.25 – 11.50: Use of data-driven simulations to inform real-world survival analyses - Michal Abrahamowicz (Montreal, Canada), Marie-Eve Beauchamp, Anne-Laure Boulesteix, Tim P. Morris, Willi Sauerbrei, Jay S. Kaufman
Panel on “Simulation Studies”
11.50 – 12.15: Developing international standards in the analysis of patient reported outcomes in cancer clinical trials: methodological issues and STRATOS engagement in the European IMI-SISAQOL project - Saskia le Cessie (Leiden, The Netherlands), Els Goetghebeur, Limin Liu, Doranne Thomassen on behalf of work package 3 of the Setting International Standards in Analyzing Patient-Reported Outcomes and Quality of Life Endpoints Data Consortium (SISAQOL)
12.15 – 12.30: Discussion about the next steps - Willi Sauerbrei
Mini-symposium "Modern software tools for modern statistics“
Agenda
9:00-9:30 Why I use … Stan (Duco Veen, University Medical Center Utrecht)
9:30-10:00 Why I use … Julia (Maren Hackenberg, Uni Freiburg)
10:00-10:30 Why I use … Python (Paul Zivich, University of North Carolina)
BREAK
11:00-11:45 Github: Reproducibility and beyond (Kevin Kunzmann, Boehringer-Ingelheim)
11:45-12:30 Professional software development: Tips and tricks (Yulia Marchenko, STATA)
The registration fee for the main conference covers the mini-symposium. It is possible to register for the mini-symposium only and the cost is £150. Tickets can be booked via this link.