# Julian Higgins

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{{Short description|Statistician}}
{{Infobox scientist
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| name              = Julian Higgins
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| birth_name        = Julian Piers Thomas Higgins
| birth_date        = 1971
| birth_place       = [Middlesbrough](/source/Middlesbrough)
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| fields            = [Biostatistics](/source/Biostatistics)
| workplaces        = [Imperial College London](/source/Imperial_College_London)<br>[University College London](/source/University_College_London)<br>[University of York](/source/University_of_York)<br>[Medical Research Council](/source/Medical_Research_Council_(United_Kingdom))<br>[University of Bristol](/source/University_of_Bristol)
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| education         = [Durham University](/source/Durham_University)<br>[University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge)<br>[University of Reading](/source/University_of_Reading)
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| thesis_title      = Exploiting information in random effects meta-analysis
| thesis_url        = https://europepmc.org/abstract/eth/387704
| thesis_year       = 1997
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'''Julian Piers Thomas Higgins''' (born 1971) is a British [biostatistician](/source/biostatistician). He is Professor of Evidence Synthesis and Director of Research at the Department of Population Health Sciences at the [University of Bristol](/source/University_of_Bristol).<ref name="bio">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bristol.ac.uk/social-community-medicine/people/julian-p-higgins/index.html |title=Professor Julian Higgins  |website=[Bristol University](/source/Bristol_University) |language=en-GB |access-date=2018-07-04}}</ref>  

Higgins was previously Chair in Evidence Synthesis at the [University of York](/source/University_of_York), and Programme Leader at the MRC Biostatistics Unit in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge). He was President of the [Society for Research Synthesis Methodology](/source/Society_for_Research_Synthesis_Methodology) from 2005 to 2006.<ref>{{cite web |title=Professor Julian Higgins receives award from the Society for Research Synthesis Methodology |url=https://methods.cochrane.org/news/professor-julian-higgins-receives-award-society-research-synthesis-methodology |website=Cochrane Methods |access-date=10 May 2025 |language=en |date=26 July 2019}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Higgins was born in North Yorkshire, where he attended the [Stokesley School](/source/Stokesley_School). He completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics at [Durham University](/source/Durham_University) in 1992, earned a diploma in mathematical statistics from the [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) in 1993, and obtained a PhD in applied statistics from the [University of Reading](/source/University_of_Reading) in 1997.<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Higgins|first=JPT. |date=1997 |title= Exploiting Information in Random Effects Meta-analysis |publisher=University of Reading}}</ref>

==Academic career==
Higgins is a Senior Investigator at the [National Institute for Health Research](/source/National_Institute_for_Health_Research) (NIHR). An expert on [meta-analysis](/source/meta-analysis) and [systematic review](/source/systematic_review) methodologies, Professor Higgins contributes actively to the [Cochrane Collaboration](/source/Cochrane_Collaboration), where he also serves as Senior Methods Advisor. He is a co-editor of the ''Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions'' and has been named an [ISI Highly Cited](/source/ISI_Highly_Cited) researcher each year since 2015.<ref name=bio /><ref>{{cite web |title=20 University of Bristol academics named on Highly Cited Researchers 2024 list |url=https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2025/january/clarivate-2024-list.html |website=Bristol University |access-date=10 May 2025 |date=27 January 2025}}</ref>

On 28 August 2019 Higgins, along with [Jonathan Sterne](/source/Jonathan_Sterne), Jelena Savović, and colleagues, published in the ''[British Medical Journal](/source/British_Medical_Journal)'' an article detailing "RoB 2", a revised tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized trials.<ref> Sterne Jonathan A C, Savović Jelena, Page Matthew J, Elbers Roy G, Blencowe Natalie S, Boutron Isabelle et al. RoB 2: a revised tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials BMJ 2019; 366 :l4898.</ref> Assessing risk of bias is regarded as an essential component of a systematic review. The most commonly used tool for assessing risk of bias to date has been the [Cochrane](/source/Cochrane_(organisation)) risk-of-bias tool, which Professor Higgins introduced in 2008.<ref> Higgins JPT, Green S (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.1.0 [updated March 2011]. The Cochrane Collaboration, 2011. Available from www.handbook.cochrane.org.</ref>

==See also==
*[Doug Altman](/source/Doug_Altman)
*[John Ioannidis](/source/John_Ioannidis)
*[David Moher](/source/David_Moher)
*[George Davey Smith](/source/George_Davey_Smith)

==References==
{{Scholia}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.bristol.ac.uk/social-community-medicine/people/julian-p-higgins/index.html Faculty page]
*{{Google Scholar id|EYQIr1sAAAAJ}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Julian P. T.}}
Category:British statisticians
Category:Biostatisticians
Category:Academics of the University of Bristol
Category:Living people
Category:Alumni of the University of Reading
Category:Cochrane Collaboration people
Category:Academics of the University of York
Category:Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) people
Category:Academics of Imperial College London
Category:Academics of University College London
Category:Alumni of Durham University
Category:NIHR Senior Investigators
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:People from Middlesbrough
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Julian Higgins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Higgins) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Higgins?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.