Guest Presentations
Centre of Research Excellence in Medicines Intelligence
Guest speakers and visiting fellows
MI-CRE regularly hosts visiting researchers from around the world who come to discuss their latest research, and share their insights on the latest methods in pharmacoepidemiology and working with real-world data. Below are some highlights from some of our international guest presenters.
Dani Prieto-Alhambra
Professor of Pharmaco- and Device Epidemiology, Nuffield Dept of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford.
MI-CRE was thrilled to host a guest presentation by Professor Prieto-Alhambra during his short visit to Australia in March 2023. Dani's talk was titled “Data stays local – evidence goes global - What can Australia learn from the Data Analysis and Real World Interrogation Network (DARWIN-EU) Program?”.
During his visit, Dani shared his experience of DARWIN-EU and OHDSI and how we might benefit here in Australia from large-scale real-world data analytic platforms and distributed network analysis.
Samy Suissa
Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and of Medicine at McGill University, and Director of the Centre of Clinical Epidemiology, Jewish General Hospital, in Montreal, Canada.
During MI-CRE's Annual Research Symposium and Policy Forum in November 2023 we were privileged to have Professor Suissa present on “Observational studies of new indications for old drugs: the good, the bad and the ugly.” He shared insights into understanding time-related biases in pharmacoepidemiological studies and how to avoid these when designing observational studies. This was a great opportunity for our students and researchers to learn from one of the world's leading pharmacoepidemiologists and Samy spent considerable time with them after his presentation answering questions and providing advice on their study designs.
Sonia Hernandez-Diaz and Krista F. Huybrechts
Sonia Hernandez-Diaz - Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Krista F. Huybrechts - Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
In January and February of 2024 we were delighted to host two events by Professor Hernandez-Diaz and Associate Professor Huybrechts as part of their visit to Australia to collaborate with UNSW Scientia Associate Professor Helga Zoega. Krista and Sonia shared their expertise on causal inference research methods through a half-day interactive seminar “Target trial emulation for medicines and other interventions in pregnancy”. A special mention to UNSW PhD candidate, Bianca Varney who also presented on her own research case study as part of the workshop.
This was followed by a multidisciplinary applied research seminar at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney on “Safety of opioids, anticonvulsants and second-line glucose lowering medications in pregnancy: Real-world evidence to inform shared decision-making". Over 60 clinicians, researchers and students from across Australia attended the hybrid seminar which also included presentations by clinicians Dr Antonia Shand, Head of Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Royal Hospital for Women and Dr Debra Kennedy, Pediatrician & Specialist Geneticist with expertise in pregnancy care, Founder of MotherSafe.
Kris Filion
Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University.
In February of 2024 MI-CRE had the pleasure of hosting Associate Professor Filion at UNSW Sydney in association with his visiting fellowship to the University of South Australia. During his stay in Adelaide and Sydney, Kris worked closely on a number of study designs for collaborative projects with MI-CRE researchers as well as colleagues at NDARC. Kris also gave two hybrid presentations for NDARC and MI-CRE where he shared his knowledge and experience using some of the most recent pharmacoepidemiological methods, including the 'prevalent new user' design in observational studies using real-world data.
Robert Platt
Associate Dean and Director of the School of Population and Global Health (SPGH), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health and Pediatrics at McGill University
In October 2025, MI-CRE welcomed Professor Platt, who delivered a Masterclass in Causal Inference Methods for Pharmacoepidemiology at UNSW. He shared his deep expertise in robust study design with MI-CRE researchers and students from across Australia. During his visit, Rob also joined the MI-CRE 2025 Research Symposium and Policy Forum as a guest panellist offering valuable insights on building successful research partnerships.
After a series of meetings in Sydney, Professor Rob Platt joined MI-CRE Director Professor Sallie Pearson and Chief Investigator Professor Nicole Pratt in Canberra for a Government Policy Roundtable on the role of Real-World Evidence in Health Technology Assessment (HTA). Hosted by Australia’s Chief Statistician Dr David Gruen and Professor Andrew Wilson, former Chair of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), the Roundtable brought together key leaders to explore how real-world data can inform policy and decision-making.
Professor Platt shared insights from the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES), highlighting how their innovative use of real-world data delivers timely responses to Canadian public stakeholders on medicine use, safety, and effectiveness.
Rob’s visit was an invaluable opportunity for MI-CRE researchers and students to engage with one of the world’s leading experts in causal inference and pharmacoepidemiology. It also provided Australian policymakers with the chance to learn from the experience of our colleagues in Canada in harnessing the value of real-world evidence in HTA.
Peter Rijnbeek
Professor of Medical Informatics, Chair of the Department of Medical Informatics, Erasmus University Medical Centre
As part of the MI-CRE 2025 Annual Research Symposium and Policy Forum, we were delighted to host international keynote speaker Professor Peter Rijnbeek from Erasmus Medical Centre, Netherlands.
Peter shared his vision for global initiatives like OHDSI, the European Health Data and Evidence Network (EHDEN), and DARWIN EU®, showing how interoperability, common analytics, and community collaboration can generate reliable evidence from real-world health data (recording of his presentation available here). Some of the insights Peter shared included:
- Standardising data with the OMOP Common Data Model
- Applying FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable)
- Building networks that accelerate evidence generation and improve health decision-making
Highlights included EHDEN’s achievements:
- 70+ publications
- Expanding network of data partners
- EHDEN Academy supporting 6,000+ learners worldwide
Peter also joined a Government Policy Roundtable on Real-World Evidence in HTA and helped launch the Australian Health Data Evidence Network (AHDEN), a new national initiative to build a federated, standardised health data network in Australia, led by MI-CRE’s Professor Nicole Pratt.
Amy Freier and Jennifer Enns
Researchers at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, University of Manitoba, Canada.
At MI-CRE’s Annual Research Symposium and Policy Forum in October 2025, we were pleased to host visiting Canadian researchers Dr Amy Freier and Dr Jennifer Enns, who presented on community partnerships for data equity and policy change. They shared insights from the SPECTRUM Partnership, a collaboration among community organisations, government departments, and academic institutions in Manitoba that promotes inclusive, evidence-informed social policy.
Their presentation highlighted the importance of centring Indigenous perspectives, respecting data sovereignty, and engaging communities directly in the research process to ensure that evidence generation supports equity and self-determination. Amy and Jennifer’s visit offered valuable lessons for MI-CRE’s own partnership and policy work in real-world evidence for quality use and safety of medicines. A recording of their presentation is available here.