The SIOG Methods Working Group aim is to generate and disseminate educational content, spanning the methods spectrum from specifying the research question to interpreting study results, that will improve the quality and rigor of observational quantitative and qualitative research studies within the field of geriatric oncology.
The 2 main activities of the working group is to:
- Collaborate and write methodological papers targeted towards the geriatric oncology community to raise awareness of common biases and proposed solutions to these biases in observational analyses in the published literature, and
- Organize educational events with internal (to SIOG) or external speakers.
Chairs
Jennifer L. Lund, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the United States and the Director of Data Strategy and Education for the Cancer Information and Population Health Resource (CIPHR) within the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Lund conducts pharmacoepidemiologic and health services research with applications to older adult populations and those diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Lund’s research program draws upon clinical trials, large healthcare databases, and advanced epidemiologic and causal inference methods to evaluate: (1) the quality of care received, (2) the effectiveness and safety of treatment options, and (3) the role of polypharmacy, multimorbidity, and frailty in treatment selection, adherence, and outcomes. Methods key words: epidemiology, causal inference, prediction modeling, comparative effectiveness research, health services research
Sophie Pilleron, MPH, PhD, is an epidemiologist specialising in aging and cancer. She heads the Ageing, Cancer, and Disparities (ACADI) Research Unit at the Luxembourg Institute of Health. Her research focuses on describing the cancer burden in older individuals and unpacking drivers of age-related disparities in cancer outcomes in older adults with cancer. With expertise in descriptive epidemiology and a keen interest in causal inference, she has extensive experience in analysing large epidemiological population-based cohort data, population-based cancer registry data, and large administrative datasets. Additionally, she has experience in evaluating interventions. Methods key words: epidemiology, observational data, descriptive epidemiology, causal inference
Working Group Members
Adolfo González Serrano MD, MSc, PhD is a urologist currently associated with the urology department at Hospital Universitari Son Espases in Palma, Spain, and a visiting lecturer in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Université Paris Est Créteil, France. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Université Paris Saclay, with a specialization in methodology and statistics for biomedical research, and a PhD in Public Health, Epidemiology, and Health Economics from Université Paris -Est-Créteil. Dr. González Serrano’s research centers on urologic oncology, geriatric oncology, predictive modeling, and clinical decision-making. Methods keywords. Biostatistics, epidemiology, clinical decision-making
Carine Bellera, PhD (Biostatistics & Epidemiology), is lead biostatistician at Institut Bergonié, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bordeaux, and Research Associate at INSERM (French National Institute for Health & Medical Research), Research Centre U1219, Team “Epidemiology of Cancer & Environmental Exposure”. Her research themes focus on the methodology of clinical trials (efficacy outcomes (tumor-centered and patient-reported), surrogate endpoints, trial design and sample size estimation), with a particular interest in oncogeriatrics, sarcomas and other solid tumors. Methods key words: biostatistics, epidemiology, trial design, efficacy endpoints.
Eva Culakova PhD, MS currently leads the biostatistics core for the University of Rochester (National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Base. She completed her undergraduate education in mathematics at Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia, and received her graduate degrees in mathematics and medical statistics from the University of Rochester, Rochester NY, USA. During the last 20 years she dedicated her professional life to providing statistical support to oncology research, studying toxic side effects of treatments and interventions to alleviate the effects of toxicities. She has statistical expertise in clinical trial design and analysis, analysis of observational data, meta-analysis. Her current research interests focus on statistical methods applicable to analyses of treatment tolerability in frail patients with cancer. Methods key words: biostatistics, trial design, patient reported outcomes, risk prediction.
Florence Canouï-Poitrine MD, PhD public health physician and epidemiologist in Paris Est Creteil University and APHP- Henri Mondor hospital (Paris Greater Area). She leads a reseach team dedicated to clinical epidemiology and ageing (CEpiA team, https://www.cepia.team/). Her main research theme is the underrepresentation of older patients in clinical trials, the prognosis and predictive values of geriatric and oncological parameters for morbi-mortality and treatment toxicities and the impact of geriatric assessment for improving patient outcomes. She is lead scientist and methodologist of the ELCAPA prospective cohort study (> 8000 older patients with cancer included and followed), the EGéSOR and IMPROVED trials (NCT02025062; NCT04709055). Methods key words: Cohorts, clinical trials, Prognosis studies.
India Pinker, PhD is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Ageing, Cancer and Disparities (ACADI) Research Unit at the Luxembourg Institute of Health. Dr Pinker is also a health psychologist by training. Her research focuses on healthcare communication and medical education. This research includes how communication impacts care experience, health behaviours and treatment decisions for older adults with cancer to better inform health professions education. Methods include: qualitative methodology, qualitative social media analysis and narrative synthesis (i.e. for scoping/systematic reviews). Methods key words: Qualitative methodology, qualitative analysis, reviews.
Jessica L. Krok-Schoen, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Sciences, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University’s College of Medicine. Dr. Krok-Schoen’s research focuses on geriatric oncology, cancer survivorship, symptom management, and behavioral interventions. Her research expertise includes mixed methods study design as well as qualitative analyses. In addition to her own primary data collection, she has experience in utilizing U.S.-based datasets of cancer survivors including the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), SEER-Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (SEER-MHOS) Linked Data Resource, and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Methods key words: epidemiology, observational data, mixed methods, qualitative analyses
Kristen Haase, RN PhD is an assistant professor in Nursing at the University of British Columbia and an affiliated investigator the BC Cancer Research Institute. Her research program centres on supporting older adults as they manage cancer, chronic disease, and wellbeing, in domains of symptom science, self-management, and technology-enabled interventions. Methods of interest include: qualitative and co-design methodology, patient and public involved research, mixed methods, survey approaches, and knowledge synthesis (i.e. systematic and scoping reviews). Methods key words: Co-design, qualitative methodology, qualitative methods, mixed methods, PPI.
Nienke de Glas, MD, PhD is a medical oncologist and a clinical epidemiologist. She graduated from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands where she has been involved in several clinical epidemiological studies in geriatric oncology. In addition, she has her own youtube channel where she puts out videos on research methodology, with a specific focus on geriatric oncology research. She is currently working as a medical oncologist in Forde (Norway) where she combines her clinical work with research in geriatric oncology.