Thomas C Chalmers, MD
Tom Chalmers (1917-1995) was an outspoken advocate of randomised trials, whether at the bedside, at professional meetings, in class or in situations pertaining to his own life. His creativity spanned his entire career, influencing clinicians and methodologists alike. He is perhaps best known for the notion ‘randomise the first patient’, his belief that it is more ethical to randomise patients than to treat them in the absence of good evidence. In his later years, in arguably his most important work, Tom and his colleagues showed that, had information from RCTs been systematically and cumulatively synthesised, important treatments such as thrombolytic therapy for myocardial infarction would have been recognised as useful much earlier.
The Thomas C Chalmers Award
The Thomas C Chalmers Award was initiated by Tom Chalmers himself and further supported with individual donations from friends and family to celebrate and recognise Tom's interests and achievements. It was awarded for the first time at the 2nd Cochrane Colloquium in Hamilton, Canada in 1994. In 2019 it was decided that, going forward, the Award will be given at each Cochrane Colloquium to the principal author of the best long oral, the best short oral and the best poster presentation addressing methodological issues related to systematic reviews given by an early career investigator. The presentations must demonstrate originality of thought, high quality science, relevance to the advancement of the science of systematic reviews and clarity of presentation.
Presentations are judged by the Thomas C Chalmers Award Committee during the course of the Colloquium. The three recipients each receive a certificate, the best oral winners receive US$350 each, and the best poster winner receives US$300.
Eligibility criteria
Abstract submitters self-nominate during the submission process. To be considered eligible, the first author must be an early career investigator and the presenter at the event. An early career investigator is considered to be one who is:
- no more than 7 years after their last education or professional qualification (e.g. bachelor, diploma, masters, doctorate, etc.); and
- not having held an academic (or equivalent research-orientated) appointment for longer than 7 years in total. Career interruptions or delays for the purpose of childrearing, illness, health-related family responsibilities or non-research clinical training (residency, etc.) do not count towards these 7 years.
Assessment criteria
Eligible oral and poster presentations must demonstrate:
- originality of thought
- high quality science
- relevance for the advancement of the science of systematic reviews
- clarity of presentation
Thomas C Chalmers Award recipients
2024
The 2024 best long oral presentation winner is Cristian Mansilla for Matching policy and practice questions to methodological approaches: a novel tool to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
The 2024 best short or flash oral presentation winner is Kylie Hunter for The Individual Participant Data (IPD) Integrity Tool for assessing the integrity of randomised controlled trials
The 2024 best poster winner is Marwin Weber for Non-dissemination in qualitative health research – a retrospective cohort study of conference abstracts
2023
The 2023 best long oral presentation winner is Peter Godolphin for Reliably estimating interactions and subgroup effects in aggregate data meta-analysis
The 2023 best short oral presentation winner is Lynn Hendricks for The power of storyboarding as an analytical tool in QES: From review to fieldwork to dissemination
The 2023 best poster winner is Mayara Silveira Bianchim for Co-producing with children and young people on a meta-ethnography on experiences of chronic pain, treatments and services
2019
The 2019 best oral presentation winner is Dena Zeraatkar, for 'A novel approach to evaluate the plausibility of causal relationships from non-randomized studies' [presentation].
The 2019 best poster presentation winner is Rui Wang for 'Reporting of Cochrane systematic review protocols with network meta-analyses - a scoping review' [poster].
2018
The 2018 best long oral presentation winner is Adriani Nikolakopoulou, for 'The emerging evidence syntheseis tools: actively living network meta-analysis'.
The 2018 best short oral presentation winner is Leonie Van Grootel for 'Using Bayesian information for matchinig qualitative and quantative sources in a mixed studies review'.
2017
The 2017 best long oral presentation winner is Emily Karahalios, for 'An empirical investigation of the impact of different methods for synthesizing evidence in a network meta-analysis'.
The 2017 best short oral presentation winner is Hannah Ewald, for 'Agreement of treatment effects from observational studies using causal modeling and randomized trials: meta-epidemiological study'.
2016
The 2016 best oral presentation winner is Daniël Korevaar, for 'Time to publication among completed diagnostic accuracy studies: associated with reported accuracy estimates'. Proceedings of the 24th Cochrane Colloquium, 2016
The 2016 best poster presentation is Juan Victor Ariel Franco for 'Error identification in search strategies of new Cochrane Systematic Reviews published in 2015'. Proceedings of the 24th Cochrane Colloquium, 2016
2015
Naci H, van Valkenhoef G, Higgins J, Fleurence R, Ades T. Combining network meta-analysis results with patient preferences to facilitate shared decision making [poster]. Proceedings of the 23rd Cochrane Colloquium, 2015
and
Willis BH, Riley RD. Are predictions of test accuracy studies valid in practice? [presentation]. Proceedings of the 23rd Cochrane Colloquium, 2015
2014
Katikireddi SV, Egan M, Petticrew M. How do systematic reviews incorporate assessment of study quality into the synthesis of evidence? A methodological study [poster]. Proceedings of the 22nd Cochrane Colloquium, 2014.
and
Saldanha IJ, Dickersin K, Ugarte-Gil C, Li T, Rutherf ord G, Volmink J. Are we measuring enough of what patients want? A collaborative study of Cochrane reviews on HIV/AIDS [presentation]. Proceedings of the 22nd Cochrane Colloquium, 2014.
2013
Noel-Storr A, Struthers C, Cullum S, McShane R, Creavin S, Davis D, Huckvale K. Many hands make light work – or do they? Results of two pilotstudies looking at the effects of crowdsourcing [presentation]. Proceedings of the 21st Cochrane Colloquium, 2013.
and
Dongming Zhang, Jiajin Lei, Robinson K. A hybrid approach for automating citation screening process [poster]. Proceedings of the 21st Cochrane Colloquium, 2013.
2012
Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Green SE, Forbes A. Types of selective inclusion and reporting bias in randomised trials and systematic reviews of randomised trials [presentation]. Proceedings of the 20th Cochrane Colloquium, 2012.
and
O'Mara-Eves AJ, Brunton G, Thomas J, Kavanagh J, Oliver S. Systematic methods for identifying evidence for broad review questions: looking beyond titles and abstracts. Proceedings of the 20th Cochrane Colloquium, 2012.
2011
Huckvale K. Screen2Go: a pilot smartphone app for citation screening. Proceedings of the 19th Cochrane Colloquium, 2011.
and
Mhaskar R, Magazin A, Soares H, Kumar A, Djulbegovic B. True methodological quality of trials is not reflected in their reporting [presentation]. Proceedings of the 19th Cochrane Colloquium, 2011.
Honourable mention:
Vale C, Tierney J, Burdett S. Can trial quality be reliably assessed from a trial publication? [presentation]. Proceedings of the 19th Cochrane Colloquium, 2011.
2010
Kirkham JJ, Riley R, Williamson P. Is multivariate meta-analysis a solution for reducing the impact of outcome reporting bias in systematic reviews? [abstract] Proceedings of the 18th Cochrane Colloquium, 2010.
and
Ferrante di Ruffano L, Hyde C, Deeks J. What do test-treat trials measure? [poster]. Proceedings of the 18th Cochrane Colloquium, 2010.
2009
Takwoingi Y, Dinnes J, Leeflang M, Deeks J. An empirical assessment of the validity of uncontrolled comparisons of the accuracy of diagnostic tests. Proceedings of the 17th Cochrane Colloquium, 2009.
and
Staub LP, Lord SJ, Houssami N. Including evidence about the impact of tests on patient management in systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy. Proceedings of the 17th Cochrane Colloquium, 2009.
2008
Riley RD, Dodd SR, Craig JV, Williamson PR. Meta-analysis of diagnostic test studies using individual patient data and aggregate data. Proceedings of the 16th Cochrane Colloquium, 2008.
and
Anzures-Cabrera J, Higgins JPT. Expressing meta-analyses of continuous outcomes in terms of risks. Proceedings of the 16th Cochrane Colloquium, 2008.
and
Tendal B, Higgins JPT, Jüni P, Hróbjartsson A, Trelle S, Nüesch E, Wandel S, Jørgensen AW, Gesser K, Ilsøe-Kristensen S, Gøtzsche PC. The data extraction challenge: observer variation when extracting data for the calculation of a standardised mean difference. Proceedings of the 16th Cochrane Colloquium, 2008.
2007
Friedrich J, Adhikari N, Ohlsson A, Beyene J. Ratio of means as an alternative to mean differences for analyzing continuous outcome variables in a meta-analysis: a simulation study. Proceedings of the 15th Cochrane Colloquium, 2007.
and
Patsopoulos N, Ioannidis J, Evangelou E. Uncertainty of heterogeneity in meta-analysis. Proceedings of the 15th Cochrane Colloquium, 2007.
2006
Alldred SK. Comparison of two different search strategies in identifying literature for a diagnostic test accuracy review of Down's Syndrome screening. Proceedings of the 14th Cochrane Colloquium, 2006.
and
Skipka G. The inclusion of the estimated inter-study variation into forest plots for random-effects meta-analyses - a suggestion for a graphical presentation. Proceedings of the 14th Cochrane Colloquium, 2006.
2005
Brok J, Thorlund K, Wetterslev J, Gluud C. Trial sequential analyses of six Cochrane neonatal group meta-analyses considering adequacy of allocation concealment [poster]*. Proceedings of the 13th Cochrane Colloquium, 2005.
and
Salanti G, Higgins J, Marinho V. How to determine the best treatment: a mixed-treatment-comparisons meta-analysis (MTM) of trials of topical fluoride therapies for the prevention of dental caries [presentation]. Proceedings of the 13th Cochrane Colloquium, 2005.
*To enlarge the poster, right-click on the poster image; select 'Zoom' from the pop-up menu, then 'In' from the choices that appear.
2004
Marinovich L, Ghersi D, Lord S. Data maturity and systematic reviews of new health technologies. Proceedings of the 12th Cochrane Colloquium, 2004.
2003
Hollis S, Preston C. Allowing for uncertainty due to missing data in a binary meta-analysis. Better than best/worst case analysis? Proceedings of the 11th Cochrane Colloquium, 2002.
2002
Royle P. Obtaining published errata to randomised controlled trials: is it worth the effort? Proceedings of the 10th Cochrane Colloquium, 2002.
Runner-up:
Napoli M, Schiff H. Survey of American media coverage of the review of mammography trials: an opportunity to educate consumers about the risks of detecting ductal carcinoma in situ. Proceedings of the 10th Cochrane Colloquium, 2002.
Honourable mention:
Telaro E, D’Amico R, Moja P, Battaglia A, Bianco E, Calderan A, Colli A, Di Pietrantoni C, Ferri M, Fraquelli M, Girolami B, Marchioni E, Mezza E, Piccoli G, Vignatelli L, Liberati A. Quality Assessment in Cochrane reviews: Do we practice what we preach? Proceedings of the 10th Cochrane Colloquium, 2002.
2001
(tie)
Deeks JJ. Half dead or half alive? Which way should events be coded for meta-analyses of risk ratios? Proceedings of the 9th Cochrane Colloquium, 2001.
Full publication: Deeks JJ. Issues in the selection of a summary statistic for meta-analysis of clinical trials with binary outcomes. Stat Med 2002;21:1575-1600.
(tie)
Henry D, Moxey A, O'Connell D. Agreement between randomised and non-randomised studies - the effects of bias and confounding. Proceedings of the 9th Cochrane Colloquium, 2001.
Runner-up:
Sterne JAC, Bartlett C, Juni P, and Egger M. Empirical evidence of bias? The hazard of ignoring heterogeneity in meta-epidemiology. Proceedings of the 9th Cochrane Colloquium, 2001.
Full publication: Sterne JAC, Jüni P, Schulz KF, Altman DG, Bartlett C, and Egger M. Statistical methods for assessing the influence of study characteristics on treatment effects in “meta-epidemiological” research. Stat Med 2002;21:1513-1524.
Full publication: Egger M, Jüni P, Bartlett C, Holenstein F. and Sterne JAC. How important are comprehensive literature searches and the assessment of trial quality in systematic reviews? Empirical study. Health Technol Assess 2003;7:No.1.
Runner-up:
Olsen O, Gotzsche PC. Quality assessment of mammography screening trials. Proceedings of the 9th Cochrane Colloquium, 2001.
Full publication: Olsen O, Gotzsche PC. Screening for breast cancer with mammography. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2001;(4):CD001877. Review.
Full publication: Olsen O, Gotzsche PC. Cochrane review on screening for breast cancer with mammography. Lancet 2001;358:1340-1342.
2000
(tie)
Li wan Po A, Herxheimer A, Poolsup N, Aziiz Z. How do Cochrane reviews address adverse effects of drug therapy?. Proceedings of the 8th Cochrane Colloquium, 2000.
(tie)
Tierney J, Stewart LA. Investigating patient exclusion bias in meta-analysis. Proceedings of the 8th Cochrane Colloquium, 2000.
1999
1st:
Higgins J. How should we interpret updated meta-analyses? Proceedings of the 7th Cochrane Colloquium, 1999.
2nd:
Djulbegovic B, Lacevic M, Lyman GH. Empirical verification of the uncertainty principle in conducting randomized trials. Proceedings of the 7th Cochrane Colloquium, 1999.
3rd:
Braunholtz D, Lilford R, Chard J. Combining qualitative and quantitative information in reviews. Proceedings of the 7th Cochrane Colloquium, 1999.
1998
Deeks J, Bradburn M, Bilker W, Localio R, Berlin J. Much ado about nothing: statistical methods for meta-analysis with rare events. Proceedings of the 6th Cochrane Colloquium, 1998.
Full publication: Bradburn MJ, Deeks JJ, Berlin JA, Localio RA. Much ado about nothing: a comparison of the performance of meta-analytical methods with rare events. Statistics in Medicine 2007: 26(1): 53-77.
1997
Berlin J. Does blinding affect the results of meta-analyses? Proceedings of the 5th Cochrane Colloquium, 1997.
Full publication: Berlin JA, Miles CG, Cirigliano MD, Conill AM, Goldman DR, Horowitz DA, Jones F, Scott E, Hanchak NA, Williams SV. Does blinding of readers affect the results of meta-analyses? Results of a randomised trial. Online J Curr Clin Trials [serial online] 29 May 1997.
Full publication: Berlin JA. Does blinding of readers affect the results of meta-analyses? University of Pennsylvania Meta-analysis Blinding Study Group. Lancet 1997; 350: 185-186.
1996
Liberati A, D'Amico R, Torri V, Tinazzi A, Leonetti C, Pifferi S. Meta-analyses from different sources of information. Proceedings of the 4th Cochrane Colloquium, 1996.
1995
Clarke M, Stewart L, Parmar M. Benefits of meta-analyses using individual patient data. Proceedings of the 3rd Cochrane Colloquium 1995.
Full publication: Clarke M, Godwin J. Systematic reviews using individual patient data: a map for the minefields? Ann Oncol 1998;9:827-833.
1994
Counsell CE, Clarke MJ, Slattery J, Sandercock PAG. The miracle of DICE therapy for acute stroke: fact or fictional product of subgroup analysis. Proceedings of the 2nd Cochrane Colloquium, 1994.
Full publication: Counsell CE, Clarke MJ, Slattery J, Sandercock PAG. The miracle of DICE therapy for acute stroke: fact or fictional product of subgroup analysis? BMJ 1994;309:1677-1681.