Statistics and serial killers: real or imagined

The event features a 90 minute presentation by Professor John O'Quigley. The focus is on the use of statistical methodology in the forensic sciences, specifically the use of statistics to build the case for the prosecution against potentially criminal misconduct in a health care setting. We examine the weaknesses in these statistical arguments and consider how to build a robust defence in order to challenge the prosecution's case.

A further 60 minutes will be used to allow the audience to put questions to Professor O'Quigley and to promote a general discussion concerning the statistical issues that arise in such cases.

Professor O'Quigley is a mathematician with a research focus on probability and statistical methodology, in particular with applications to the health sciences. His career began in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Leeds, after which he undertook several research projects for the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Following a position as associate professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, he became a tenured full professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of California - San Diego. Other academic positions at which Professor O'Quigley taught and carried out research include the University of Virginia Medical School, the Department of Mathematics at Lancaster University and the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard University. For the last decade and a half, Professor O'Quigley has been working on several research projects in the fields of medical statistics within the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Paris - Sorbonne and the Comprehensive Clinical Trials Unit,  University College London. 

Professor O'Quigley has published several scholarly papers relating to potential misconduct in health care settings and the statistical basis on which many prosecutions have been based. He has taken a particular interest in the case of Nurse Lucy Letby, outlining his research work in a number of public gatherings such as those supported by the Nineteen Nurses group. Last October he presented work on AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning to an All Party Parliamentary Group at the House of Commons. This work was also part of a training course given this August at Harvard University.

Please note that this is a non-profit event. Any surplus from the sale of tickets will be used to support the work of Nineteen Nurses.