Professor Jon Deeks is a distinguished biostatistician and global authority in medical test evaluation methodology with international recognition for his methodological contributions. He holds the position of Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Birmingham where he leads the NIHR Birmingham BRC theme of Data, Decision making and Diagnostic Tests within the Department of Applied Health Sciences. As an NIHR Senior Investigator Emeritus and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, he has established himself as a preeminent figure in clinical research methodology with decades of leadership in evidence synthesis. Since 2006, he has cultivated a world-renowned research group specializing in diagnostic test evaluation, fostering collaborations across national and international institutions while maintaining his position as a leading methodological expert in the field.
Professor Deeks has published over 400 scholarly works, including 78 primary studies of diagnostic tests, 67 systematic reviews, and 79 methodological papers that have fundamentally shaped the field of test evaluation. His development of the QUADAS-2 tool for quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies has become the global standard with over 12,000 citations, revolutionizing how researchers evaluate diagnostic tests and establishing rigorous methodological frameworks for evidence synthesis. His work spans diverse diagnostic modalities including in vitro diagnostic tests for tuberculosis, imaging technologies like ultrasound and MRI, and physiological tests such as pulse oximetry, demonstrating exceptional breadth across medical specialties. These methodological contributions have directly influenced clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing tuberculosis, detecting prostate cancer, identifying ovarian cancer, and screening for congenital heart disease in newborns, translating statistical methodology into tangible improvements in patient care worldwide.
As the senior methodologist for the Cochrane Collaboration's test evaluation activities and an advisor to the World Health Organization, he continues to shape global standards for diagnostic test assessment and evidence-based healthcare decision-making. He leads the Biostatistics, Evidence Synthesis, Test Evaluation and Prediction Modelling Research Group at the University of Birmingham, mentoring the next generation of methodologists through both formal supervision and international workshops. His commitment to education is evident through his frequent workshops on test evaluation methodology at international conferences and institutions worldwide, promoting methodological rigor across the global research community. Currently, his research focuses on advancing prediction modeling and refining methodologies for non-randomized evaluations of diagnostic interventions, ensuring continued innovation in evidence-based medicine while addressing emerging challenges in healthcare diagnostics and decision support systems.
