WK08: Measuring Latent States in Medical Research: from Theory to Practice

Dr. Andrae’s research interests lie at the intersection of modern psychometric theory of latent variable models and biostatistical analysis of clinical trial data. He has worked on over 100 clinical trials and real-world studies as well as represented several companies at FDA and EMA meetings. Dr. Andrae received his MA and PhD degrees in cognitive and quantitative psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After a brief stint constructing psychometric interviews for a human resources company, he has worked in pharmaceutical research since 2001, first at MDS Pharma Services and PPD. While at Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Andrae was part of a team that developed a new treatment for irritable bowel syndrome from proof of concept to FDA approval within five years and EMA approval a year thereafter. Most recently, he has been working to validate Patient- and Clinician-reported Outcome measures for pharmaceutical development. Dr. Andrae has also supported drug development and commercialization teams as a statistical and psychometric expert, heading two centers of excellence specializing in building health economic models, conducting analysis of real-world data, and analyzing clinical trial data for the drug portfolios within Allergan’s Global Value and Evidence Department.