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Expert Profile:
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Vivienne Esser is a PhD student under the supervision of Professor John Hopper and Dr Shuai Li, in the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics at The University of Melbourne. Distinguishing causal relationships from non-causal associations that are due to confounding is of fundamental importance for health research. Current epidemiological approaches that assess causation are limited by assumptions that are often strict, restrictive and difficult to meet or test, limiting the conclusions that can be made. A novel, regression-based method for performing Inference about Causation from Examination of FAmiliaL CONfounding (ICE FALCON) based on family data has been developed, which allows for bi-directional causation between measured traits as well as familial confounding. This PhD aims to further develop ICE FALCON, both methodologically and to allow use by the wider research community. Previously, I’ve completed undergraduate degrees in Mathematical Sciences and Health & Medical Sciences from the University of Adelaide. My Honours research involved finding associations between maternal risk factors, prenatal trajectories of mental health measures, HPA axis function and maternal and infant outcomes. |
