The annual award is jointly organised by the Royal Statistical Society and PSI, the member organisation for statisticians in the pharmaceutical industry.
The judges found that Dr O'Kelly's entry, 'Promoting analytical solutions and best practices for handling missing data in pharmaceutical industry' provided a unifying framework for conducting simulations - an integral element of a statistician’s work within the pharmaceutical industry. The judges felt that in this respect, he has made a major contribution to enhancing the practical application of modelling and simulation methodology and tools for analysing data with missing values.
The award was particularly fitting for Dr O'Kelly this year as 2017 marks 25 years of his service to the pharmaceutical industry at Quintiles. He was presented with the award at a ceremony held during the PSI Conference on 16 May 2017.
'The award is a great chance to celebrate the very best and most influential work that statisticians in industry do,' said Tim Rolfe, board director at PSI. 'Michael’s practical guide on missing data combines existing, as well as novel ideas for analysis of incomplete data in clinical trials, which are critical to pharmaceutical companies meeting the increasing regulatory demands for proper handling of missing data.'