Prof. Robin Roberts, Professor Emeritus Biostatistician, M. Tech.

robertsrmcmasterca

Professor Roberts is a biostatistician with broadly based experience in epidemiologic research in diagnosis and treatment. His early interests involved cancer epidemiology, particulary as it applies to occupational exposure. His subsequent research has been directed towards the design, execution and analysis of randomized controlled trials. As a founding member of the CTM Programme, Professor Roberts has participated (usually as a co-principal investigator) in a number of large national and international clinical trials. Two notable earlier studies were CATS, which demonstrated the benefit of ticlopidine in patients with stroke, and CAPRIE, which showed that clopidogrel was effective in reducing ischemic events in a broadly based population of patients with atherosclerosis. Both of these studies were pivotal in the world-wide regulatory approval of these two agents. Antiplatelet drugs and, more generally, vascular disease continue to be a theme in his research with a more recent focus on arrhythmic interventions (both pharmacologic and devices). Current collaborations with clinical colleagues at McMaster have led to the development of three large international trials in neonates.