Jo Haviland

Profile

I am a statistician with extensive experience of working in academic medical research, particularly clinical trials. Following a BSc in mathematics and an MSc in medical statistics at the University of Southampton I worked at the MRC Sickle Cell Research Laboratories in Jamaica. I then spent five years at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine working on epidemiological studies and clinical trials, primarily focussing on HIV and TB in sub-Saharan Africa. At LSHTM I was involved with designing and delivering statistics and research methods modules for MSc programmes and with supporting PhD students, which sparked my long-standing interest in teaching applied methods to non-statisticians.

In 1996 I joined the Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research, furthering my interest and expertise in clinical trials from design and funding application through to analysis and reporting. I worked on a number of trials that have changed standard radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer in the UK and worldwide. At the University of Southampton, I have worked in the trials unit, NIHR Research Design Service, and the Macmillan Survivorship Research Group that investigates consequences of cancer and its treatment. Methodological interests include reporting of adverse effects, particularly from radiotherapy, and patient-reported outcomes.

I lead the statistics group in the Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit within the Centre for Evaluation and Methods, continuing my interest in clinical trial methodology and conduct. I am a member of the Clinical Evaluation and Trials committee of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment funding programme, the UKCRC CTU Network Statistics Operations Group and am the independent statistician on a number of trial oversight committees for other trials units

Research

Research Interests:

My main interest is in developing clinical trials that are efficient and deliverable, and which improve outcomes for the populations being studied. Methodological interests include statistical aspects of clinical trial design, reporting and analysis of adverse effects, and use of patient-reported outcomes.

Publications

Please click through to see a complete list of Jo's publications

Outstanding publications

• Staffurth JN, Haviland JS, Wilkins A,  Syndikus I, Khoo V, Bloomfield D, Parker C, Logue J, Scrase C, Birtle A, Malik Z, Panades M, Eswar C, Graham J, Russell M, Ferguson C, O’Sullivan JM, Cruickshank CA, Dearnaley D⁺, Hall E⁺ on behalf of the CHHiP Trial Management Group. Impact of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy on Patient-reported Outcomes in Prostate Cancer: Results up to 5 years in the CHHiP trial (CRUK/06/016). Eur Urol Oncol (2021); 4(6): 980-992 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euo.2021.07.005

• Bhattacharya IS, Haviland JS, Turner L, Stobart H, Balasopoulou A, Stones L, Kirby AM, Kirwan CK, Coles CE, Bliss JM and on behalf of the PRIMETIME Trialists. Can patient decision aids reduce decisional conflict in a de-escalation of breast radiotherapy clinical trial? The PRIMETIME Study Within a Trial implemented using a cluster stepped-wedge trial design. Trials (2021); 22: 397. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-021-05345-y

• Brunt AM, Haviland JS, Wheatley DA, Sydenham MA, Alhasso A, Bloomfield DJ, Chan C, Churn M, Cleator S, Coles CE, Goodman A, Harnett A, Hopwood P, Kirby AM, Kirwan CC, Morris C, Nabi Z, Sawyer E, Somaiah N, Stones L, Syndikus I, Bliss JM, Yarnold JR, on behalf of the FAST-Forward Trial Management Group. Hypofractionated breast radiotherapy for 1 week versus 3 weeks (FAST-Forward): 5-year efficacy and late normal tissue effects results from a multicentre, non-inferiority, randomised, phase 3 trial. Lancet (2020); 395 (10237): 1613-1626. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30932-6

• Coles CE, Griffin CL, Kirby AM, Titley J, Agrawal RK, Alhasso A, Bhattacharya IS, Brunt AM, Ciurlionis L, Chan C, Donovan EM, Emson MA, Harnett AN, Haviland JS, Hopwood P, Jefford ML, Kaggwa R, Sawyer EJ, Syndikus I, Tsang YM, Wheatley DA, Wilcox M, Yarnold JR, Bliss JM, on behalf of the IMPORT Trialists. Partial-breast radiotherapy after breast conservation surgery for patients with early breast cancer (UK IMPORT LOW trial): 5-year results from a multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3, non-inferiority trial. Lancet (2017); 390(10099): 1048-1060.  http://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31145-5

• Haviland JS, Owen JR, Dewar JA, Agrawal RK, Barrett J, Barrett-Lee P, Dobbs HJ, Hopwood P, Lawton PA, Magee BJ, Mills J, Simmons S, Sydenham MA, Venables K, Bliss JM and Yarnold JR on behalf of the START Trialists’ Group. The UK Standardisation of Breast Radiotherapy (START) randomised trials of radiotherapy hypofractionation for treatment of early breast cancer; 10-year follow-up results (CRUK/96/001). Lancet Oncol 2013; 14: 1086-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1470-2045(13)70386-3