Oh joy! One of those automatic updates that you cannot override, where the computer randomly reboots itself and installs things in the middle of a meeting. And we're currently at 27% and waiting... Is it too early to just decide today is a write off?

That rainy Monday feeling. And he doesn't even have to make sense of a budget reconciliation.

I have had a lovely break but it is nice to be home and I think I'm ready to tackle my inbox. However, it is going to have to wait because someone else is glad we are home and he is really hard to see through!

Enjoying some time with my sister and her family in Korea!

📢 As one of the next round of TRMP PhD students (below) you could join me, Clare Robinson, @averoniki.bsky.social and @marionkcampbell.bsky.social to work on developing a typology of research outputs in trials methodology, based at @wiphcem.bsky.social. Details here: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Nurse doing my blood test: "And have you had anything to drink today"? Me: "Yes. Had my usual coffees" Nurse: "Anything else? Some water?" Me: ....."Coffee has water in it, right?"

Upside- I have no conflicts for today's funding panel meeting so I get to discuss lots of interesting proposals with colleagues Downside - I have no conflicts so by about 4pm my brain will have turned to mush just in time for parent-teacher consultations for my daughter. Answer- all the coffee!

Had news that we had a grant funded so decided to celebrate a little and spoil my dinner.

I have received a reminder to complete a survey on workplace stress and burnout...which I haven't managed to get round to because I have been snowed under with things. I feel like there is a methodology point I could make here but mostly I'm just a bit tired. So here is a sleeping cat instead.

Crumble season 😊

UK DCTN Fellowships - Last chance to apply! Do you want to learn more about applied dermatology research? Our Fellowship opportunities are available to: Dermatology Trainees Portfolio pathway staff GPs Dermatology/ Research Nurses Pharmacists Deadline: 5pm Monday 6 October

My daughter mentioned this morning that she is going to a talk about clinical trials at school. I asked who was speaking- ours isn't a huge community so I thought it might be someone I knew. Her response "Sorry, I didn't catch the name over my brain shouting 'thank god it's not my mother'".

I'm doing a webinar in two weeks (15 Oct 1-2pm BST), part of NIHR Research Support Service's Methods Academy series, on the age-old question: should I do a stepped wedge trial? Free registration, details here: tinyurl.com/z6cjvce3 @nihr-rss.bsky.social @wiphcem.bsky.social @qmul-wiph.bsky.social

Autumn is rolling into the valley here and I'm managing to walk further and further without anything hurting, which is nice.

One of the key things to address when undertaking a feasibility study ahead of a trial is the acceptability of different aspects of the proposed trial (intervention, trial processes, proposed outcomes etc) to all relevant parties 1/7 #MethodologyMonday #125

Today I was part of an international funding panel with colleagues in Australia. Great discussion and really interesting day but having logged in at 7.15am, by lunchtime my brain seems to have decided that a full day of thinking has been done.

On the one hand, good database validation rules make everything much easier. On the other hand, I just removed from one question the following delightful freetext response that should have been on a 1 to 5 scale: "No answer. Patient only wanted to talk about her cat".

The world may be on fire but today I met my neighbour's new kitten so there is that!

Thank you to our four amazing undergrad interns, Maryam, Anoushri, Sandhiya & Sky for joining us in @wiphcem.bsky.social this summer to experience health research in action. Thanks also to @nihr.bsky.social for funding through their UIP and the RSS Hub at Imperial & Partners. @qmul-wiph.bsky.social

Okay, found uniform, shoes and bags, got children out of the house to school, cleaned shoe polish out of the carpet...now let's tackle all the things I somehow thought I would complete over the summer!

Having a tidy up and found this book on top of the bookshelf. No idea where it came from...I can't recall ever buying it. If I start reading it, does some exciting adventure begin for me? I feel like I might be a bit old to be the heroine of this story. Perhaps I should leave it for one my kids...

We survived the stress of GCSE results day and cat surgery day, with good results on both counts. If anyone needs me, I'll be slumped on the sofa in relieved exhaustion.

I still sometimes read a book at bedtime with the 14 year old. Only now we read it at my bedtime rather than his as I tend to toddle off to sleep first!

This is Stevie. He lives next door. Or he did until he and Salem became friends. Now, if I open a window, Stevie pops in to visit. This morning I woke up to Stevie in my bed. Apparently, we now have 1.5 cats in this house.

Very happy to see a big paper from my PhD *OUT TODAY* We explored if there were inequalities in the attendance & effectiveness of behavioural weight management interventions in an individual participant data meta-analysis. See the thread for findings 👇 bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/3/2/...

I have a chest infection and am a bit grumpy with it. So I've decided to put off doing the grant applications I was going to review and score today. You're welcome. 😊

Improving the design of staggered implementation cluster randomised trials qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/earl...

We have been to the vet. Time for us both to have a lie down.

Come and chat to us about your dermatology research ideas! It is a really informal and friendly space to help organise your thoughts and figure out next steps.

There is a podcast published in the Lancet Primary Care podcast.app/the-lancet-p... about our study showing that a brief digital problem-solving intervention improves depression and anxiety symptoms in Ukrainian children and adolescents displaced by war www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

My morning coffee spot has been invaded! I do not think the geese are inclined to share

Enjoying the view. Nearly time to head home.

Visiting with family in America and thought I'd open the window for a little fresh air. After 3 minutes the smoke alarm went off because of the humidity. 😬

My coffee is happy to see me this morning. The feeling is mutual

I am sorry to be missing #sapc2025 (though I am enjoying following on here!). But at least I have a good reason. After a tough couple of months it is nice to put my feet up, literally and figuratively!

New paper posted on Arxiv: "When do composite estimands answer non-causal questions?" This can happen more often than you think, and can have a dramatic impact on trial results (e.g. a false-positive rate of almost 90%) arxiv.org/abs/2506.22610 @timpmorris.bsky.social

Huge congratulations to my lovely and inspirational colleague Edel O'Toole who wins the Sir Archibald Gray Medal at #BAD2025. This is the highest honour the British Association of Dermatologists can bestow. We are so very lucky to have her @qmulfmd.bsky.social

Not a good start to my conference adventures. Getting to Glasgow is looking like more of an epic journey than planned!

I decided to clean out my desk because it seemed like it had been a while and...it had been a while!

It has been quite a few weeks but one of the ways I know I'm on the mend is that I can start quilting a bit once again. Now if only I can remember what these bits were supposed to become...

Are you going to SAPC 2025? If so please join us for the @digitalsig.bsky.social special interest group meeting, with guest speaker @francescadakin.bsky.social on 8th July at 11am

As an applied statistician, people don't ask me to examine PhDs all that often. But today I spent a lovely day in Cardiff doing just that. The candidate did an amazing job and I look forward to seeing what they go on to do in the future. And the sun was shining too!

And that is GCSEs done for Child1. It has been as much a test of endurance as knowledge...for all of us!

Kick off with Fiona Walter for our @qmul-wiph.bsky.social annual showcase 2025

Beautiful day for the @qmul-wiph.bsky.social showcase! It has been fabulous to hear all the work that is being carried out across our 6 Centres. But all of it underpinned by excellence in methods, as highlighted by some of our staff in @wiphcem.bsky.social

How my husband is spending the weekend versus how I am spending the weekend... (I get 2 photos because my plans are better)

Had a great day yesterday working on critical appraisal skills with our new @ukdctn.bsky.social Fellows. Some great discussions about the papers but also about the challenges of peer review and of AI! Nottingham was particularly gorgeous in the sunshine too.

Went for a little walk for the first time in a while. Very pretty flowers in bloom but, just as importantly, lovely tea room for when I needed to sit down again!

This is not what I was expecting to be greeted with on coming down this morning. But I will say, chasing a bird around the living room wakes you up even more quickly than coffee!

40(ish) applications 9 hour funding panel meeting 5 cups of tea 1 bar of chocolate (possibly family size...oops) 1 cat asleep on my broken foot Felt a bit of a marathon but was one of the most interesting days I've had in a while. Some fascinating and innovative proposals around decarbonisation.