Feb festival of methods for evidence synthesis hits the mark
The MESU team enjoyed great success with their back to back methods events this February
The Evolving Methods for Evidence Synthesis of Health Research Symposium and companion ROBINS-I workshop proved a great way to kick off 2025. Hosted by Monash University's Methods in Evidence Synthesis Unit (MESU) with administrative support from Cochrane Australia, the back-to-back events attracted over 120 participants and showcased how evidence synthesis methods continue to evolve and innovate.
Key themes and highlights
The symposium focused on priority areas in evidence synthesis, with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a dominant theme. International guest Evan Mayo-Wilson from University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health shared findings on AI's capacity to detect outcome switching in clinical trials, demonstrating accuracy rates that rivaled human reviewers while significantly reducing processing time.
Meanwhile, fellow international guests Professors Jonathan Sterne and Julian Higgins from the University of Bristol shared contrasting views on optimal meta-analysis models. Their different perspectives on random-effects versus fixed-effect model sparked lively discussions that continued throughout the networking sessions.
Other popular topics included safeguarding research integrity when using individual participant data; approaches to improving the usability and uptake of reporting guidelines for systematic reviews; and, advances in methods to assess the certainty of the evidence.
‘Matt (Page) and I were thrilled with the event and the feedback we’ve received since,’ says Professor Joanne McKenzie. The national and international presenters really got participants thinking about some of the methodological challenges we face when undertaking evidence synthesis, what some of the solutions are, and what potential opportunities lie ahead, particularly with AI. We were also very pleased by the high level of participant engagement in the networking sessions.’
Convivial discussions continued at the post-symposium social gathering in a leafy beer garden on a balmy Melbourne summer’s evening. This proved the perfect place to end a big day of learning, debate and thought-provoking discussions for presenters and participants alike. The popular consensus was that the methods fest should become a regular event.
Best of the fest: The MESU crew (pictured above) convened the symposium.
Presenters included Sue Brennan, Natalie Strobel (pictured happily sharing notes on a laptop) and the UK's Julian Higgins (pictured enjoying post symposium beverages with lead co-organiser (along with Matthew Page) Joanne McKenzie).
Former MESU Great Dr Emily Karahalios joined Simon Turner and Joanne McKenzie to compare notes in the great outdoors at the social event.
Participants Loyal Pattuwage and Sanchita Khan enjoyed discussing the presentations and all things methods over tasty treats.
