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Improving the transparency, reproducibility, and trustworthiness of science

Gustav Nilsonne

Meta-research group

 

 

 
 

 

 

Research areas

 

 

Metascience

I work in metascience to assess and improve transparency and reproducibility of research using quantitative methods. Particular interests include multi-analyst designs, quality control and error checking, researchers’ incentives, and evidence synthesis.

Neuroscience

My research in neuroscience concerns mainly sleep, diurnal rhythms, and markers of inflammation. For many years I ran a research programme involving experimental studies of sleep deprivation using brain imaging. Currently I am working mainly on projects collecting large amounts of existing data for secondary analysis.

Psychiatry

Together with colleagues, I run projects to assess biomarkers in psychiatry and to develop better ways to predict interventions for patients.

 

In the media

 

2023-11-13: Debate article in Upsala Nya Tidning: Riktlinjer för öppen vetenskap en besvikelse (in Swedish)

2024-02-06: Debate article in Dagens Nyheter: Många forskare struntar i att redovisa sina resultat (in Swedish)

2024-02-22: News feature in Medscape: The Ghost Research Haunting Nordic Medical Trials

 

Research projects

 

The Sleepy Brain project

was a large multimodal brain imaging study of sleep deprivation, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. We showed, among other things, that sleep deprivation caused increased variability of blood flow and reduced functional connectivity in the brain. We have shared the rich dataset from this project, which has led to numerous collaborations and re-use by other teams. Analyses of data from the Sleepy Brain project still continues.

The EEGManyPipelines project

aims to investigate the variability in analysis strategies and results in EEG research. In this uniquely decentralised and community-based project, we have recruited 168 independent research teams that have analysed an EEG dataset in the way they found most appropriate. The project is funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.

“Exhaustion Disorder: an Appraisal”

is a collaborative project with the research group of Christian Rück, where we have conducted a scoping review of all research conducted on exhaustion disorder, a putative stress-related diagnosis which is associated with a high disease burden in Sweden, the only country where the diagnosis has been introduced into the disease classification system. The project is funded by Region Stockholm.

Systematic evaluation of clinical trial reporting

is an investigation of Nordic registered clinical trials. We are following up all trials registered in the EU clinical trials register (EUCTR) and on clinicaltrials.gov, which ended 2016-2019 and were sponsored by a Nordic university or university hospital.

 

improving Reproducibility In Science (iRISE)

brings together a European consortium to deepen understanding of reproducibility drivers, evaluate their effectiveness and provide concrete solutions to enhance scientific evidence. I co-lead a work package for interventions to improve reproducibility and am also responsible for the project Stakeholder Forum. 

Other

In addition, I am involved in numerous collaborations including the EEGManyLabs project, the SCORE project, and the ENIGMA-Sleep working group.