Andrew Julian Vickers (born 11 February 1967) is a biostatistician and attending research methodologist at

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

. Since 2013, he has also been professor of public health at

Weill Cornell Medical College The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

. He is the statistical editor for the peer-reviewed journal ''

European Urology ''European Urology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering urology. It was established in 1975 and is published by Elsevier. It is the official journal of the European Association of Urology. The editor-in-chief is James Catto (Unive ...

''.

Education and career

Vickers received his B.A. from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

in 1989 and his D.Phil. from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1999. He joined Memorial Sloan Kettering in 1999 as an assistant attending research methodologist, before being appointed an associate attending research methodologist there in 2006 and an attending research methodologist in 2012.

Research

Vickers is known for his research into

prostate cancer screening Prostate cancer screening is the screening process used to detect undiagnosed prostate cancer in men without signs or symptoms. When abnormal prostate tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat and cure, but it is unclear if early ...

. In 2011, he published a study which found that PSA velocity—the change in the blood level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)--was not a more accurate predictor of prostate cancer than comparing PSA levels to a specific threshold. He was responsible for designing the algorithm that is used in the commercial "4Kscore" test for men with elevated PSA. With colleague Hans Lilja, Vickers published a series of studies demonstrating that a single PSA at age 45 - 60 is an extremely strong predictor of the long-term risk of prostate cancer mortality. Vickers is separately known for his methodological research on prediction modeling - he developed the statistical method known as "decision curve analysis" - and empirical research into several forms of alternative medicine, particularly acupuncture. Vickers was the lead author of a 2012 meta-analysis of 29 acupuncture trials published in the ''Archives of Internal Medicine''. Vickers told Reuters that this meta-analysis "provides evidence that [patients with pain] would be justified in considering acupuncture." Vickers leads the "Amplio" surgical quality assurance initiative at Memorial Sloan Kettering and is Director of the "Web Survey" health informatics core facility.

Personal life

Vickers is a competitive runner and plays Ultimate (sport), ultimate frisbee. He has a daughter and two sons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Andrew Alumni of the University of Cambridge Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford British emigrants to the United States Cancer researchers Alternative medicine researchers Biostatisticians 1967 births