Content Comparison

Malcolm Macleod is Professor of Neurology and Translational Neurosciences at the University of Edinburgh. He co-founded the Collaborative Approach to Meta-Analysis and Review of Animal Data from Experimental Studies (CAMARADES) in 2005, and since then he has been at the forefront of the application of evidence synthesis tools to pre-clinical research. This has included using systematic approaches to selecting drugs for multi-arm multi-stage trials in neurodegenerative diseases (https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(24)00326-0); Living Systematic Reviews of animal data in mental health, as part of the GALENOS project; evidence synthesis as a tool for research improvement; and the development and evaluation of automation approaches for pdf retrieval, de-duplication, risk of bias annotation and citation screening. He was an author on the Lancet Series on Research Waste, spends a day a week as an NHS Neurologist, and is a keen runner. Most of 'his' success can be attributed in large part to the work of others.

Ashrita Saran has led research teams across multiple disciplines, collaborating with organizations such as the WHO/PMNCH, UNICEF Office of Research Innocenti, FCDO, PENDA, CGIAR, and Giving Evidence. Through these partnerships, she has spearheaded a variety of evidence synthesis projects—including systematic reviews, rapid evidence assessments, scoping reviews, and evidence and gap maps, integrating machine learning to enhance the efficiency of the review process. Ashrita has effectively harnessed 'active learning' modalities in advanced review management tools and crowdsourcing to expedite various stages of the systematic review process, such as searching, screening, and data extraction. She has also worked on testing the sensitivity and specificity of AI-driven searches compared to manual methods, further advancing the accuracy and efficiency of review processes. As a contributing author to the "Responsible and Safe Use of AI in Evidence Synthesis (RAISE): Guidance and Recommendations," she contributed to developing guidelines that ensure the ethical and practical use of AI in this field. 

She is the Director of Evaluation and Evidence Synthesis at the Global Development Network  Additionally, she serves as the editor for Campbell’s Climate Solutions Coordinating Group.