Enhancing research methodologies

Personalised medicine, or individualised diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, has improved the quality of care, but has made it harder to conduct meta-analyses on disease courses and treatment. An EU-funded project, 'Novel statistical methodology for diagnostic/prognostic and therapeutic studies and systematic reviews' (MEDIASRES), is a new international PhD programme that combines state-of-the-art research with comprehensive research training to encourage young scientists to develop novel ways to study diseases in today's world.

The main goal of the project is to build a joint strong training programme for early-stage researchers (ESRs) by establishing an interdisciplinary network. The ESRs will be trained by network partners to utilise and explore new research methodologies, such as longitudinal studies, time-to-event data, regression models, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modelling that consider genomic or molecular data. Another project goal is to conduct outreach programmes to add to the network of researchers and trainees.

Thus far, the project has been successful in building a training network. The first two years consisted primarily of training efforts, with courses on statistics, methodologies and measures conducted by renowned statisticians and researchers. Online trainings were also utilised to expand the reach of the programme and allow later-stage researchers to continue their education.

The project has the added benefit of teaching ESRs how to tackle challenging problems and translate biostatistics into medical research. ESRs can then translate biomedical research findings into clinical medical practice.

MEDIASRES has the potential to build wide professional networks throughout Europe and beyond. This network can enhance research through further collaboration. The project also will open doors for ESRs to expand the field of research and develop or modify techniques to fit the evolving nature of science and medicine.