Dear Berlin-area Epidemiological Methods Enthusiasts,

You are invited to our next BEMC Talk on Wednesday, September 5^th.

BEMC Talk: Wednesday, September 5^th, 2018 @ 4pm

“Covariate selection in observational studies with limited knowledge of the true causal structure” – Dr. Sebastian Baumeister (Augsburg)

• If you haven’t already done so, please register in advance: https://goo.gl/forms/MPnYT5NQVoeSKt3F3
• Description: “Unconfoundedness is assumed to generate an unbiased estimate of a causal effect on an outcome. If there is sufficient knowledge on the underlying causal structure, established covariate selection criteria based on a causal directed acyclic graph (DAG) can be used to select subsets of observed pretreatment covariates. However, although variable selection approaches should be based on an understanding of the causal structure representing the common cause pathways between treatment and outcome, the true causal structure is rarely known. When knowledge of the causal structure is not sufficient for use of a DAG, alternative covariate selection strategies are needed. Common suggestions when the causal structure is only partially known include “all observed pretreatment covariates” (Rubin) or the “disjunctive cause criterion” (VanderWeele & Shpister). Data-driven procedures for selection of covariates have also been proposed (e.g., change-in-MSE, focused selection, CovSel). Defining subsets of covariates that are sufficient to control for confounding empirically is difficult in the absence of background knowledge on the causal data-generating mechanism because adjustment for covariates that are affected by the exposure or the outcome and adjustment for instruments can increase bias.”
• Location: Seminar room of the Neurology Clinic; Bonhoefferweg 3 entrance, 3^rd floor, Charité – Campus Mitte

Upcoming Berlin Epi Events:

• Sept 19^th @ 4pm – BEMC JClub  – Paper is posted online
• October 10^th – BEMC Talk – “Interactive DAGs: Exploring causality theory with Dagitty” – Dr. Johannes Textor, Nijmegen 
• Oct 17^th @ 4pm – no JClub. Join us at the IPH Lecture with Maria Glymour, ScD, MS, Professor at UCSF School of Medicine, as she presents “Are we ready for a biomarker-only based diagnostic criterion for research in Alzheimer’s Disease?” Please register for the event: https://iph-lecture.eventbrite.de
• November 7^th – BEMC Talk – “Multi state modelling in chronic diseases”  – Dr. Ralph Brinks, Düsseldorf
• December 5^th – BEMC Talk – Professor James Robins, Boston

Interested in other Institute of Public Health events? Visit our calendar to check out upcoming conferences & short courses!

Follow BEMC on Twitter and leave questions for our speakers: @BEMColloquium