Topic: Mendelian Randomization – what it was, what it is, and what it should become
Bio: George Davey Smith is a clinical epidemiologist who has focused on methods for improving
causal inference in studies of disease aetiology and disease prevention. His work has
involved early implementation of ‘negative controls’ in epidemiological studies, the use of
cross-context comparisons, sensitivity analyses, unobtrusive data collection methods and
randomized trials in thought-to-be difficult situations. He pioneered the use of germline
genetic variants for investigating modifiable causes of disease (‘Mendelian randomization’),
developed several extensions of the basic method, and contributed to its application in many
settings. He is an advocate of the pre-specified application of a range of methods, with
different structures of potential biases, to the same question (‘triangulation’), as the key
approach to strengthening causal inference. Throughout his career he has promoted
increasing the accessibility of data, and implemented this in studies he has led, including the
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and their Children (ALSPAC).
