Professor Linda Sharples
PhD
Professor
of Medical Statistics
After obtaining a BSc Hons Mathematics (First) and PhD in Statistics at Nottingham University, I had a short lecturer appointment at Newcastle University (1986-1989) where I became interested in statistical methods applied to clinical and public health data.
I spent 23 years as a non-clinical Scientist and then programme leader (from 2000) at the MRC Biostatistics Unit, Cambridge (1989-2013), during which time I collaborated with Papworth Hospital, a specialist hospital in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
In 2013, I took up a post as Professor of Statistics at Leeds University Clinical Trials Research Unit (2013-2016), leading athe Comprehensive trials division and developing a statistical methodology stream in the CTU.
I joined the LSHTM as Professor of Medical Statistics in 2017, where I specialise in statistical methodology related to evaluation of new health technologies, particularly in cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Affiliations
Teaching
I jointly organise the Applied Hierarchical and Other Dependent Data module on the MSc Medical Statistics course.
I curently have 2 PhD students at LSHTM:
Kate Edgar, Exploring mechanisms of action of complex interventions using trial data and causal inference methods to improve quality and safety of healthcare for older people,
Caroline Chesang, Estimating treatment effects on mortality and competing risks using real-world data, with application to prostate cancer.
Two further students have recently been awarded NIHR doctoral fellowships and will register as postgraduate research students this year.
Research
Research is focussed on applying rigorous statistical analysis to evaluation of interventions, particularly surgery, diagnostic strategies and other non-pharmacological interventions. I am the statistical expert for a range of trials and observational studies in cardiovascular conditions and cancer. Major methodological research interests surround evaluation of novel health technologies using both randomised and non-randomised designs, and assessment of clinical trial results within the wider context of epidemiological and routinely collected health data. Many of these studies involve synthesis of all relevant data, including electronic health records, and can incorporate changes in health status over time. As such they provide a more comprehensive picture of the way in which diseases and conditions develop, as well as the mechanisms that drive health outcomes. Emerging interests surround early diagnosis of cancer in collaboration with Professor George Hanna's group at Imperial College and investigation of the effectiveness of different follow up strategies in prostate cancer patients.
Selected Publications
