Ryan McChrystal

Email: r.mcchrystal.1@research.gla.ac.uk

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1513-6966

Research title: Predictors of early trial termination using individual-level participant data and aggregate-level data from multiple trials

Research Summary

PhD Project: AttRisk: A tool for predicting the risk of attrition occurring in randomised controlled trials

Ryan McChrystal's PhD - centred on trial methodology - focuses on trial attrition (i.e. participants not completing a trial for any reason). The end goal is to build a risk prediction tool for attrition in randomised controlled trials. The tool will intend to supplement decision making around attrition during the design, conduct and analysis of randomised controlled trials.

The tool will be the product of three year's of research doing the following:

  1. Identify candidate predictors of attrition in randomised controlled trials by systematically reviewing previous attrition analyses
  2. Determine the best approaches to developing a risk prediction model for attrition in terms
  3. Develop the risk prediction model using data from trials for type 2 diabetes
  4. Validate the risk prediction model using data from trials for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  5. Deploy the outputs of developing and validating the model as a standalone Shiny application called AttRisk

Publications

Hanlon P, Butterly E, Wei L, et al. Age- and sex- differences in efficacy of treatments for type 2 diabetes: Network meta-analysis of aggregate and individual level data. Epub ahead of print 24 June 2024. DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.23.24309242
 
Wightman H, Butterly E, Wei L, et al. Frailty in Randomised Controlled Trials of Glucose-Lowering Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis of Frailty Prevalence, Treatment Efficacy, and Adverse Events. Epub ahead of print 2024. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4877146
 
McChrystal R, Lees J, Gillies K, et al. Participant and trial characteristics reported in predictive analyses of trial attrition: An umbrella review of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials across multiple conditions. Epub ahead of print 7 June 2024. DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4378411/v1

Supervisors

Grants

2022-2025: Medical Research Council funded studentship for three years via the Trials Methodology Research Partnership (TMRP) doctoral training programme

Conference

2022 - 6th International Clinical Trials Methodology Conference

  • Workshop attendance: Retention, student induction/networking

2024 - 7th International Clinical Trials Methodology Conference

  • Poster presentation: Participant and trial characteristics reported in predictive analyses of trial attrition: An umbrella review of systematic reviews of randomised controlled trials across multiple conditions
  • Oral spotlight session: Modelling rates of trial attrition: An analysis of individual participant data from 90 randomised controlled trials of pharmacological interventions for multiple conditions

Teaching

Informal support for Master's and PhD students across multiple discplines in statistical programming with R, data analysis and statistical methods