Methodology conference

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We are absolutely delighted to share with you some of the highlights of this year’s International Clinical Trials Methodology Conference (ICTMC). Held from 3rd – 6th October 2022 in the beautiful setting of the spa town of Harrogate, Yorkshire, this conference was our biggest and best yet.

We were excited to get back to networking with our colleagues and enjoy some much-needed networking, knowledge exchange and sharing of ideas. The presentations and posters shared at the conference covered a wide range of aspects of clinical trials methodology.

This year, the Doug Altman Memorial Lecture was presented by Professor Isabelle Boutron, Professor of Epidemiology at the Université Paris Cité. Professor Boutron’s inspiring lecture explored how to effectively do ‘research on research’ to enable transparency using practical guidelines, such as the trials reporting frameworks.

 

The conference was useful to new PhD students, ECRs as well as senior academics. Arabella Baker, a final year trials methodology PhD student at Nottingham University praised the conference:

“I thoroughly enjoyed ICTMC – it was an unforgettable positive experience. The scientific programme was highly interesting, diverse and thought-provoking. It was great to hear about the fantastic research going on in all aspects of trials methodology worldwide, especially around outcomes research and recruitment.”

You can read Arabella's full blog here.

Prizes were awarded to the best presentations and posters at the conference.

 

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After the conference dinner, we were treated to a performance by North Yorkshire's only contemporary New Orleans inspired brass band, New York Brass Band.

Research Fellow Cheney Drew at Cardiff University recently wrote blog about their experience, and said of the conference dinner: “There was an opportunity to let one’s hair down at the conference dinner which was held in the extremely beautiful Royal Hall. Opened in 1903, this highly ornate auditorium provided the perfect setting to dance the night away to the excellent New York Brass Band – nothing like hearing your favourite 80’s classics reimagined in brass!”

 

 

The conference was bookended by several informative educational workshops, which were also well-attended and provided valuable take-home strategies for clinical trials and beyond.

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We were impressed by the creativity of ICTMC attendees, particularly those who used #ICTMC2022 on Twitter. Highlights included:

Dr. Nicola Harman's interactive poster on methods research

Annie Wright's TikTok of ICTMC

We were also bowl-ed over by good-natured Tweets about the conference dinner.

Going forward, we are already making plans for ICTMC 2024 and we are looking forward to seeing you again. Research Fellow and Statistician at the University of Aberdeen, Dr Beatriz Goulao summed this up with her thoughts: “I returned from ICTMC 2022 exactly as I hoped: full of ideas, new friends, and a strong motivation to do better. Start your engines, ICTMC 2024!”

You will be able to access the recordings of the keynote lectures here very soon, and a book of abstracts from the conference will be published soon by JEBM.

 

Information on previous conferences