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Kay
Dickersin
,
PhD

Professor
- Emeritus

Contact Info

Room E6152
Baltimore
Maryland
US        

Research Interests

epidemiology; clinical trials; systematic reviews and meta-analysis; evidence-based health care; reporting bias; trials registration; peer review; eyes and vision; the Cochrane Collaboration; patients and consumers
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Johns Hopkins University
1989
MA
University of California, Berkeley
1975
Overview
Dr. Dickersin's major research interests are related to epidemiology, randomized clinical trials,  systematic reviews and meta analysis, reporting biases, trials registers, peer review, evidence-based health care, and patient-centered outcomes research. She has also conducted studies in a number of important subject areas, including women's health, eyes and vision, and surgery.
Dr. Dickersin serves as the Director for the Center for Clinical Trials and Evidence Synthesis (https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-clinical-trials-and-evidence-synthesis/), whose faculty, staff and students are involved in methodologic research. She and the Clinical Trials & Evidence Synthesis faculty develop and implement the curriculum in the area of concentration by the same name.
Dr. Dickersin serves as Director of Cochrane Eyes and Vision, US Satellite. (CEV@US)(http://eyes.cochrane.org/). CEV@US is one of the review groups in the Cochrane Collaboration, which aims to help people make well-informed decisions about health by preparing, maintaining, and promoting the accessibility of systematic reviews of available evidence on the benefits and risks of health care.
Dr. Dickersin and her team also host Consumers United for Evidence-based Healthcare (CUE) (http://www.consumersunited.org/); CUE offers numerous online videos, courses, and resources designed for patients and consumers.
Honors & Awards
1993 - 1997 Frohlich Fellowship, New York Academy of Sciences.
1994 “Woman of Excellence,” National Association of Women Business Owners, Baltimore Regional Chapter.
1995 Ellen Barnett Memorial Award, Susan B. Komen Foundation Race for the Cure.
1996 Women’s Hall of Fame, Baltimore City Commission for Women.
1998; 2006 “Maryland’s Top 100 Women,” Daily Record.
1998 MAMM magazine’s “50 Who Made a Difference.”
1999 Elected to membership, American Epidemiological Society.
2000 “Exceptional Advocate,” National Breast Cancer Coalition.
2007 "Contributions and Enduring Commitment to the Eradication of Cancer," American Association for Cancer Research.
2007 Elected to membership, Institute of Medicine
2009, 2013 JHSPH Student Assembly, Advising, Mentoring, Teaching Recognition Award (AMTRA)
2011 Elected Fellow, Society for Clinical Trials
2013 Valkhof Chair, Radboud Univerity Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands
2014 Ingram Olkin Award, from the Society for Research Synthesis Methods for lifetime contributions to the field
Select Publications
This list includes publications on sources of data and outcomes examined in evidence synthesis from a recent study (MUDS), the study (Vedula et al) that led to closer examination of the outcomes and sources used in systematic reviews and meta-analysis, and why systematic reviews form the basis of evidence-based healthcare. Not all sources of clinical trials data are in the public domain as they should be; this is the basis of one of the changes we seek.
  • Click here for a full list of Dr. Dickersin's citations in PubMed
  • Mayo-Wilson E, Li T, Fusco N, Bertizzolo L, Canner JK, Cowley T, Doshi P, Ehmsen J, Gresham G, Guo N, Haythornthwaite JA, Heyward J, Hong H, Pham D, Payne JL, Rosman L, Stuart EA, Suarez-Cuervo C, Tolbert E, Twose C, Vedula S, Dickersin K. Cherry-picking by trialists and meta-analysts can drive conclusions about intervention efficacy. J Clin Epidemiol. 2017 Aug; doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.07.014.
  • Mayo-Wilson E, Fusco N, Li T, Hong H, Canner JK, Dickersin K; MUDS investigators. Multiple outcomes and analyses in clinical trials create challenges for interpretation and research synthesis. J Clin Epidemiol. 2017 Jun; doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.05.007.
  • Vedula SS, Bero L, Scherer RW, Dickersin K. Outcome reporting in industry-sponsored trials of gabapentin for off-label use. N Engl J Med 361:1963-71, 2009.
  • Dickersin K. To reform U.S. health care, start with systematic reviews. Science 329(5991):516-7, 2010.
Projects
Cochrane Eyes and Vision US Satellite (https://eyes.cochrane.org/)