Invited Speakers

Dr Patrick M Bossuyt

Dr Patrick M. Bossuyt is the professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, where he leads the Biomarker and Test Evaluation research program. 

The BiTE program aims to appraise and develop methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers, with an emphasis on clinical performance, and to apply these methods in relevant clinical studies. In doing so, the program wants to strengthen the evidence base for rational decision-making about the use of tests and testing strategies in health care. Dr Bossuyt spearheaded the STARD initiative for the improved reporting of diagnostic test accuracy studies. Dr Bossuyt has authored and co-authored several hundred publications in peer reviewed journals and serves on the editorial board of a number of these, including Radiology and Clinical Chemistry. He acted as chair of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics at his university, chaired the Division of Public Health, and was Dean of Graduate Studies. For 10 years, Dr Bossuyt also chaired the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Dutch Health Insurance Board, which oversees the health care benefits covered in the national health insurance program. In 2024, he received the ADLM Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship Award. This award “recognizes an outstanding individual who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to, and made important contributions that have had a significant impact on education, practice and/or research in laboratory medicine or patient care.”


Paula Dhiman

Paula is a Senior Research Fellow in Medical Statistics based in the Centre for statistics in Medicine at the University of Oxford.

Her research also includes reviewing the quality of medical research studies, informing the development of reporting guidelines and developing methodological guidance, all with a focus on prediction modelling. She is currently funded by CRUK to investigate sample size requirements when using machine learning in prediction model research. 

Paula is a member of the UK EQUATOR Network (promoting the use of reporting guidelines for Enhancing the Quality and Transparency Of health Research) and the TRIPOD group which produced the reporting guideline for prediction modelling studies (TRIPOD+AI). Paula is the current appointed Chair of the QResearch Scientific Committee which reviews applications to one of the UKs largest primary care databases and the statistical lead for the Blood and Transplant Research Unit for Data Driven Transfusion Practice.  She is also the Nigel James Junior Research Fellow in Medical Statistics at Pembroke College, Oxford.

Professor Laura Gray

Professor Laura Gray co-leads the Biostatistics Research Group at University of Leicester. 

Laura has a strong and sustained track-record of leading cross-disciplinary research spanning methodological and clinical areas, with a focus on identification, prevention and management of chronic and multiple long-term conditions. Her methodological research is motivated by practical problems encountered in her applied health research;  specialising in trials, prognostic modelling and evidence synthesis. Laura has a passion for ensuring meaningful patient and public involvement in her research, and has led a number of research studies in this area. 

Dr Xiaoxuan Liu 

Dr Xiaoxuan Liu is an Associate Professor in AI and Digital Health at University of Birmingham, where she jointly leads a research and policy group focused on responsible innovation and regulatory science in AI health technologies.

She is AI theme lead of the Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, co-lead for the UK NIHR Incubator for AI and Digital Health, and advisor to the MHRA on AI as Software as a Medical Device. She has led international efforts for responsible innovation in medical AI, including SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI and STANDING Together (www.datadiversity.org). Xiao also serves as a Deputy Editor at NEJM-AI and was previously an ophthalmology doctor in the UK NHS and a Health Scientist at Apple.