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I am a Professor of Statistics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. My main responsibility is as Director of the Statistical Consulting Centre. I have about 40 years of experience in applied statistical work, and a particular interest in communicating statistical ideas effectively in all I do. I am particularly interested in problem-solving from a statistical perspective. The work which has interested me most has involved a puzzle in some way: why are the data like this? I am also very interested in the use of statistical methods to promote health and well-being in society, and to promote justice. So there has been an emphasis in my consulting on medical and epidemiological research, and, in my expert witness work, on cases where disadvantaged or vulnerable people were seeking justice.
I have written over 300 consulting reports for projects of all sizes, and for clients from business, industry and government. I have acted as an expert witness on statistical matters in many court cases in a variety of jurisdictions. I have a Bachelor of Science (Honours), Master of Science, and a PhD, all in mathematical statistics. I am a member of the Statistical Society of Australia; I was the President of the Victorian Branch Council from 2009 to 2010, and Vice-President in 2008 and 2011, and I am currently the President of the Statistical Society of Australia nationally. I am an Accredited Statistician (AStat) with the Statistical Society of Australia and a member of the Australasian Epidemiological Association.
I am a Professor of Statistics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. I have been a Chief Investigator on nationally competitive grants (ARC Discovery, ARC Linkage and NHRMC). I have supervised or co-supervised five PhD students to completion. My 90+ refereed publications have about 3,300 citations and my current h-index is 33 (this means that 33 of my publications have 33 or more citations). My methodological research has been mainly in sample size and meta-analysis; my collaborative research has been in many fields, including cardiac surgery, cancer, cardiovascular research, dentistry, geomatics and social and occupational epidemiology.
My most cited publications and a brief discussion of their impact are as follows:
Brockwell SE, Gordon IR. A comparison of statistical methods for meta-analysis. Statistics in Medicine, 2001: 20:825 – 840.
683 citations. This paper analysed two common methods for meta-analysis and identified deficiencies in the use of one of these standard methods. It shaped future research in the methodology of meta-analysis.
Day L, Fildes B, Gordon I, Fitzharris M, Flamer H, Lord S. Randomised factorial trial of falls prevention among older people living in their own homes. British Medical Journal 2002 325: 128 – 131.
347 citations. This paper described the results from a randomised trial in the community, looking at potential interventions for preventing falls. I played key roles in the design and analysis of the trial, whose results have been influential in shaping policy for falls prevention.
Some of my publications over the last 5 years:
Finch S, Gordon I. Bare bones, or a rich feast? Taking care with context in a data rich world. Teaching Statistics. 2023 Jan;45(1):4-13. [This article was awarded the C. Oswald Prize for 2023 for the best article in Teaching Statistics.]
Buxton BF, Hayward PA, Raman J, Moten SC, Rosalion A, Gordon I, Seevanayagam S, Matalanis G, Benedetto U, Gaudino M, Hare DL. Long-term results of the RAPCO trials. Circulation. 2020 Oct 6;142(14):1330-8. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.119.045427
Berney S, Hopkins RO, Rose JW, Koopman R, Puthucheary Z, Pastva A, Gordon I, Colantuoni E, Parry SM, Needham DM, Denehy L. Functional electrical stimulation in-bed cycle ergometry in
mechanically ventilated patients: a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Thorax 2020. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215093
Wang, M., Huang, Y.‐K., Kong, J.C., Sun, Y., Tantalo, D.G., Yeang, H.X.A., Ying, L., Yan, F., Xu, D., Halse, H., Di Costanzo, N., Gordon, I.R., Mitchell, C., Mackay, L.K., Busuttil, R.A., Neeson, P.J. and Boussioutas, A. High‐dimensional analyses reveal a distinct role of T‐cell subsets in the immune microenvironment of gastric cancer. Clin Transl Immunol, 2020; 9: e1127. doi:10.1002/cti2.1127
Thompson G, Shanahan E, Gordon IR. The role of music-based parent-child play activities in supporting social engagement with children on the autism spectrum: a content analysis of parent interviews. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy 2019 28:2, 108-130.
Edbrooke, L., Aranda, S., Granger, C. L., McDonald, C. F., Krishnasamy, M., Mileshkin, L., Clark, R.A., Gordon, I., Irving, L., Denehy, L. Multidisciplinary home-based rehabilitation in inoperable lung cancer: a randomised controlled trial. Thorax, 2019; 74:787–96.
Professor Ian Gordon
Statistical Consulting Centre
The University of Melbourne
139 Barry Street
Carlton 3053
+61 3 8344 6995
irg AT unimelb.edu.au
I recently delivered some training to a manufacturing company. It illustrated the importance of statistical thinking and methods for the constant improvement of processes such as manufacturing. This is a long-established area of statistical application, including statistical quality control and the design of experiments. Working with the staff who are researching their processes was a refreshing reminder of the power of statistics to offer sound and efficient insights into underlying mechanisms and patterns. Many statistical methodologies are directly applicable.