Annie graduated from the University of Limerick in 2023 with a BSc in Mathematical Sciences. Her final year project involved exploring statistical methodologies in order to predict the likelihood of diabetes. This project developed her interest in statistics and health data analytics. During her undergraduate degree, Annie completed a research internship with the University of Limerick where she explored a fluid dynamics project. She also completed an eight-month placement in the statistics team in the bio-pharmaceutical company, Regeneron. Outside of maths, Annie enjoys playing Gaelic football and tag rugby.

Research project title:
Assessing the Effect of Sequential Therapy on Disease Activity Levels in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis using Causal Inference

Supervisor(s):
Theresa Smith, William Tillett

Project description: 
Sequential therapy is predominantly used to manage disease activity in Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). However, despite significant advancements in therapeutic interventions, the optimal treatment strategy remains unclear. External factors such as comorbidities, efficacy and availability introduce biases or obscure the true causal effect of treatment on disease activity. Additionally, both treatments and confounding factors are time-variant, with some confounders influenced by prior exposure, adding to the complexity of assessing the causal effect of treatment . This research aims to address these challenges by exploring causal methods to assess the true causal effect of advanced lines of therapy on disease activity and ultimately seeking to identify the optimal treatment strategy.