Event

Methods to make causal inferences from observational data have advanced rapidly over the last 25 years. Specifying a hypothetical ‘target’ randomised trial, whose results our observational study aims to emulate, clarifies the causal question of interest and helps identify appropriate approaches to analysis and avoid design-related biases. This course will review definitions of causal effects, the use of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) to clarify biases and document assumptions, and methods to address time-fixed confounding. We will define time-varying confounding and explain its consequences for statistical analyses. We will then show how specification of target trials can address problems caused by time-varying confounding, and show how to avoid bias due to ‘immortal time’ and estimate effects of sustained treatment strategies.

The course will be led by Professor Jonathan Sterne from the University of Bristol, using a combination of lectures and computer practicals (in Stata and R), with assistance from members of the ViCBiostat causal inference research group.

Prerequisites and intended audience: The target audience is epidemiologists, statisticians and other researchers with knowledge of statistical analyses including regression methods and, preferably, survival analysis. For the computer practicals, students must also have a sound working familiarity with Stata or R and have the corresponding software installed on their computer or laptop. 

Jonathan Sterne is Director of the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, co-Director of Health Data Research UK South-West, and Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at the University of Bristol, UK. During the pandemic, he was co-lead of the UK’s Longitudinal Health and Wellbeing COVID-19 National Core Study, which linked population-scale electronic health records with highly characterised longitudinal population studies. This UK-wide collaboration produced research on COVID-19 vaccination and long COVID based on analyses of data on up to 55 million people, held within newly created Secure Data Environments. Jonathan is Principal Investigator of the ART Cohort Collaboration of HIV cohort studies, which works closely with the HIV-CAUSAL collaboration based at the Harvard School of Public Health.  

Registration:

Discounted tickets are available for full time students. Please use your student email when registering.

Registration is now open. MCRI staff and students - to arrange payment via cost centre transfer please email

For all other registrations please visit: https://shop.monash.edu/vicbiostat-summer-school-2025.html 

Location:

This course will be delivered in person and online via Zoom.

Monash University SPHPM

553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne 3004