Rate My Professor Catherine Hewitt

Professor Catherine Hewitt serves as Professor of Trials and Statistics, Director of the York Trials Unit, and Deputy Head of Department for Research in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York. She earned a BSc in Mathematics and Statistics, an MSc in Mathematics, and a PhD in Health Sciences. In her role as Director, she manages the York Trials Unit's quantitative portfolio, leading a team that includes statisticians, health economists, data managers, software developers, and research administrators. As a member of the Department of Health Sciences Senior Management Team, she contributes to departmental leadership and co-directs the NIHR RSS Hub for Trials Methodology Research, a collaboration involving the University of York and partner institutions. Her responsibilities extend to supervising PhD students in trials and statistics.

Professor Hewitt's research specializes in trials and statistics, with a focus on developing, refining, and applying statistical methods for the design and conduct of clinical trials. She has authored numerous influential publications, including 'Screening for depression in medical settings with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ): a diagnostic meta-analysis' (Gilbody et al., 2007), 'Surgical vs nonsurgical treatment of adults with displaced fractures of the proximal humerus: the PROFHER randomized clinical trial' (Rangan et al., 2015), 'Reporting attrition in randomised controlled trials' (Dumville et al., 2006), 'Quality of life in inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analyses—part I' (Knowles et al., 2018), and 'Yoga for chronic low back pain: a randomized trial' (Tilbrook et al., 2011). She holds key committee roles, such as Chair of the UKCRC Statistics in Research Trials Operational Group and Deputy Chair of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Commissioning Board. Additionally, she participates in multiple Trial Steering Committees (e.g., Chair for GAP, INSPIRE, PROACTIVE, WAVE) and Data Monitoring and Ethics Committees (e.g., Chair for HOT2, PROP OA). Recognized as an NIHR Senior Investigator, she also teaches modules including Introduction to Health Statistics and Understanding Clinical Statistics.