Marshall Joffe’s Contributions to Causal Inference, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology Vol. 193; no. 4; pp. 563 - 576
• Main Authors: Isenberg, Dane, Kennedy, Edward H, Landis, J Richard, Mitra, Nandita, Robins, James M, Roy, Jason, Stephens-Shields, Alisa J, Yang, Wei, Small, Dylan S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Oxford University Press 08.04.2024; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Biostatistics; Case-Control Studies; Causality; Epidemiology; Estimation; Humans; Inference; Male; Time dependence; selective ignorability; posttreatment variables; noncompliance; case-control studies; longitudinal studies
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwad217

Abstract We pay tribute to Marshall Joffe, PhD, and his substantial contributions to the field of causal inference with focus in biostatistics and epidemiology. By compiling narratives written by us, his colleagues, we not only present highlights of Marshall’s research and their significance for causal inference but also offer a portrayal of Marshall’s personal accomplishments and character. Our discussion of Marshall’s research notably includes (but is not limited to) handling of posttreatment variables such as noncompliance, employing G-estimation for treatment effects on failure-time outcomes, estimating effects of time-varying exposures subject to time-dependent confounding, and developing a causal framework for case-control studies. We also provide a description of some of Marshall’s unpublished work, which is accompanied by a bonus anecdote. We discuss future research directions related to Marshall’s research. While Marshall’s impact in causal inference and the world outside of it cannot be wholly captured by our words, we hope nonetheless to present some of what he has done for our field and what he has meant to us and to his loved ones.