Come & play with us!

We're starting to build up the promotional material for our new MSc in Health Economics and Decision Science. Here's the first of a few videos we've filmed!

Summer School: Bayesian Methods in Health Economics

We're finally ready to advertise our new Summer School on Bayesian Methods in Health Economics, in Florence, 12-16 June 2017! This is basically combining the two short courses that we've run in the past few years $-$ the first one on Bayesian modelling for cost-effectiveness analysis using R, BUGS and BCEA, which I have done with Chris and Richard; the second one is the short course on Value of Information we did last summer with Mark, Nicky and Anna. 

The five of us have decided we should take these to the next level and so have arranged to merge the two programmes and enjoy a well in late Spring next year in Florence. Now, you may think I'm massively biased (because Florence is my home town) $-$ and partly I am $-$ but the place we chose and managed to book is really awesome.

The programme of the lectures in the summer school is the following:

1. Introduction to health economic evaluations
2. Introduction to Bayesian inference
3. Introduction to Markov Chain Monte Carlo in BUGS
4. Cost and cost-utility data
5. Statistical cost-effectiveness analysis
6. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA)
7. Advanced topics in PSA
8. Model error and structural uncertainty
9. Evidence synthesis (1) - hierarchical models
10. Evidence synthesis (2) - network meta-analysis
11. Markov models
12. Introduction to the theory of the value of information
13. Expected value of partial information (1) - theory & algebraic tricks
14. Expected value of partial information (2) - nested Monte Carlo
15. Expected value of partial information (3) - generalised additive models & GP regression
16. Expected value of partial information (4) - GP regression via integrated nested Laplace approximation
17. Expected value of sample information (1) - conjugated analysis
18. Expected value of sample information (2) - regression-based methods

All the lectures will be followed by computer practicals in which we'll show how use R and BUGS to perform cost-effectiveness analyses and post-process the model outcomes, mainly using BCEA.

We have planned for a maximum of 30 participants $-$ in previous editions, we've had most people coming from the UK. This time we're hoping for an "inverse-Brexit" to branch out more widely to other European countries. Participants will all be able to stay at the Centro Study (there are 10 single and 10 double rooms available, so book quickly if you definitely want a single!).

The registration fee also includes a copy of the three main books used as reference in the course: BMHE, The BUGS Book and Evidence Synthesis for Decision Making in Healthcare. We'll also prepare a full set of handouts and computer code (R and BUGS) that we use in the practicals. 

Registration is already available (from now to the end of April) on the UCL Store. We offer a lower rate for students!

Elections and the law of large numbers

I know most people have been caught up in the minor and irrelevant issue of the US presidential election $-$ what really mattered in the past couple of weeks was another, much more important election: the ISBA Section on Biostatistics and Pharmaceutical Statistics was renewing many of its officers!

In recent times, I have always been on the losing side of an election (both in Italy and in the UK $-$ although, despite paying my taxes here, I am not allowed to vote in the general elections $-$ and it seemed anywhere there was an election, really...). 

Finally, this time around, the spell was broken and I was elected Programme Chair of the section. I have been working in the section for the past two years as secretary, so it'll be nice to continue this process and link even more all the Bayesian activities I'm involved in!

Lectureship @ UCL

As part of our new MSc in Health Economics and Decision Science, we're recruiting a lecturer $-$ the job advert with all the relevant details are here. The post will be based at the UCL Institute of Global Health, but much as the MSc, the job-holder will work across the three areas of this entire project (IGH, Statistical Science and Economics).

The deadline for application is December 4th and we aim to interview shortly after! Incidentally, working from home should be acceptable...

Always take the weather with you...

Last week, we were in lovely Andalusia $-$ it was Kobi's first half term holiday at school and so we decided to make the most of it. It was actually an awesome week $-$ wonderful weather, nice places and now it's really hard to go back to focus to work... 

Anyway, as part of the trip, we went to visit Gibraltar, which is technically a bit of Britain enclosed within Spanish territory. Guess which bit is which...