Free Associations

Latest Episodes:

Episode 24 - What is a "synbiotic" anyway and can it prevent sepsis? Jun 19, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don examine a trial done in India using synbiotics to prevent neonatal sepsis, the gang discusses a study that looked at whether scientific productivity has been increasing over time, and Don gives us just a study title for his amazing and amusing.

Journal club article:

Synbiotics to prevent sepsis study

Episode 23 - A breakthrough for lung cancer treatment? Jun 05, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don discuss a new treatment for lung cancer (immunotherapy), the gang discusses a controversy that occurred when a large clinical trial decided to change its endpoint, and Chris dives into the world of linguistics (again).

Journal club article:

Pembrolizumab lung cancer trial

Episode 22 - An antidepressants do-over May 22, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don look at a case study of a drug company antidepressant trial in adolescents that was re-analyzed by different authors who came to different conclusions, the gang discusses the pre-registration movement in psychology and what it might tell us in medical research, and Matt finds out what happens to all those unreported clinical trials.

Journal club article:

Restoring study 329 antidepressant study

Episode 21 - People who live in glass houses... May 08, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don finally take on one of their own studies on the effectiveness of outpatient pneumonia treatment in Pakistan and see how it holds up, the gang discusses what to do when your study has flaws, and Chris tells us what happens if you don’t get funding as a junior faculty member.

Journal club article:

NO-SHOTS pneumonia outpatient treatment in Pakistan

Episode 20 - The opioids vs non-opioids showdown! Apr 24, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don tackle a study on the effectiveness of opioids vs non-opioids for treatment of back, hip, and knee pain, then the gang discusses the new NIH rules on how a clinical trial is defined, and Matt reads us some academic love poems.

Journal club article:

Opioids vs non-opioids for back, hip, and knee pain

Episode 19 - Antidepressants — our first in-studio guests! Apr 10, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don are joined by Ludovic Trinquart and Mike LaValley from the BUSPH Biostats Department to discuss a massive meta-analysis on the effectiveness of antidepressants, then we talk about the pros and cons of meta-analysis, and Don gives us some driving advice.

Journal club article:

Antidepressants effectiveness

Episode 18 - Is the HPV vaccine reducing infection? Mar 27, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don discuss a study from Scotland on the introduction of the HPV vaccine and the impact on prevalence of HPV, the gang discusses what the goal of peer review is, and Matt gets on twitter to find out the latest on significance.

Journal club article:

HPV in Scotland

Episode 17 - All about that gluten! Mar 13, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don puzzle out whether a diet low in gluten has an effect on coronary artery disease, the gang discusses whether it is ok to have prior beliefs when critiquing a study, and Don explains how sandwiches are killing the planet.

Journal club article:

Gluten and heart disease

Episode 16 - The jellyfish and memory edition Feb 27, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don look at the science behind a supplement aimed at improving memory, the gang debates whether industry has a conflict of interest in running their own research, and Matt explains why Don is to blame for his hearing loss.

Journal club article:

Apoaequorin and memory study

Episode 15 - Should I take my calcium/vitamin D supplements? Feb 13, 2018

Show notes

Matt, Chris, and Don debate a new meta-analysis on the evidence behind calcium and vitamin D supplements for prevention of fractures, Matt once again explains why he hates null hypothesis significance testing, and Don alerts us to the dangers of listening to heavy metal.

Journal club article:

Vitamin D and calcium study

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