Thank you to all the contributors to this issue of the newsletter! We have a new, regular section, “From the Field,” with articles from members. In this issue Jenny Spencer reflects on the wide variety of opinions laypeople have about cancer screenings. Ryan Suk provides insightful commentary on the crucial role of decision-making science in an increasingly AI-enabled world. Kine Pedersen describes the foundational work on cervical cancer prevention that came out of a collaboration started at SMDM more than a decade ago, and Carlo Federici provides an overview of the SUSTAIN-HTA Initiative which will present beta versions of the project’s new tools for the SMDM community to engage with at the annual conference in June.

Even if the weather’s unpredictable and our next meeting theme is “Medical Decision Making in Uncertain Times,” there’s a 100% chance of a successful meeting in Oslo - so pack a lightweight rain jacket and your sensitivity analyses.

Everyone has an opinion about cancer screening

by Jenny Spencer, PhD

I’m chatty and I talk to a lot of strangers. Inevitably, I am asked what I do. When I answer that I research cancer screening, I am usually treated to some very strongly held opinions about the topic. These opinions are often well-earned, perhaps the product of supporting close family members through diagnosis and treatment or their own experiences with scary abnormal findings, but these opinions also reflect some common misunderstandings around cancer screening guidelines.

How SMDM collaborations and decision modeling informed cervical cancer prevention policies in Norway

by Kine Pedersen, PhD

Medical decision making often requires acting in the face of incomplete, evolving, and sometimes conflicting evidence. Over the past decade, my work has focused on using disease simulation models to inform cervical cancer prevention policies in the context of technological and epidemiological change, within the context of Norway.

In an AI-Focused Era, the Case for Decision Science

by Ryan Suk, PhD, MS

When I recently gave a guest lecture on decision modeling and economic evaluation, a senior colleague asked me, “Do you do this with AI?” I remember pausing for quite a while, partly because I was not entirely sure what the question meant. But I was also struck by something deeper… how quickly, in this moment, many forms of rigorous analytic work are being absorbed into one broad and often blurry conversation about AI. 

Bridging Innovation and Practice in HTA: The SUSTAIN-HTA Initiative

by Carlo Federici, PhD

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is facing increasing pressure to adapt to a rapidly evolving landscape of health technologies, policy requirements, and methodological expectations. Advances such as precision medicine, smaller target populations, and more complex evidence generation pathways are challenging traditional HTA approaches. In this context, the SUSTAIN-HTA project has been launched as a Horizon Europe Coordination and Support Action (2024–2027) to help bridge the gap between methodological innovation and real-world HTA practice.

All are welcome!

Cost-Effectiveness and Decision Modeling using R Workshop

25-27 June, 2026

University of Oslo

Kick-off Your SMDM 2026 Experience with a Hands-On Workshop for Decision Modeling in R

Join the Decision Analysis in R for Technologies in Health (DARTH) workgroup, in partnership with the University of Oslo, in a hands-on workshop happening June 25-27 2026. This workshop will cover building decision tree, cohort, and microsimulation models and conducting sensitivity analyses during three days of live coding sessions and hands-on exercises. You are expected to have a basic understanding of decision modeling and R. A pre-course module will be provided to brush up on your R basics. This workshop is a unique opportunity to improve your skills in developing health economic models in R and to expand your network within SMDM.