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===Early life and education===
===Early life and education===
Goldacre is the son of [[Michael Goldacre]], a professor of public health at the [[University of Oxford]], and the pop singer Susan Traynor, aka [[Fox (band)|Noosha Fox]], both of whom are Australian.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1080/13623690902943552}}
Goldacre is the son of [[Michael Goldacre]], a professor of public health at the [[University of Oxford]], and the pop singer Susan Traynor (a.k.a. Noosha Fox of English 1970s' pop band [[Fox (band)|Fox]]) fame), both of whom are Australian.<ref>{{cite doi|10.1080/13623690902943552}}
*{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/may/29/critics-notebook-alexis-petridis|title=Was 1976 pop's worst year? Yes – and this singer was one of the culprits|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|date=29 May 2011|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> He is the nephew of [[Robyn Williams]], a science journalist, and the great-great-grandson of [[Sir Henry Parkes]], a politician and journalist.<ref name="SSW_081101">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2403358.htm |title=The Science Show |publisher=ABC Radio National |accessdate=3 November 2008}}</ref>
*{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/may/29/critics-notebook-alexis-petridis|title=Was 1976 pop's worst year? Yes – and this singer was one of the culprits|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|date=29 May 2011|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> He is the nephew of [[Robyn Williams]], a science journalist, and the great-great-grandson of [[Sir Henry Parkes]], a politician and journalist.<ref name="SSW_081101">{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2403358.htm |title=The Science Show |publisher=ABC Radio National |accessdate=3 November 2008}}</ref>


Goldacre was educated at [[Magdalen College School, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldwaynfletes.org/page/FJ |title=Famous Old Waynfletes |year=2009 |publisher=Magdalen College School |accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> He studied medicine at [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], where he obtained a first-class honours degree in his preclinical studies in 1995.<ref name=agentbio>{{cite web |url=http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/goldben/a-pre.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070208152026/http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/goldben/a-pre.html|archivedate=8 February |title=Ben Goldacre |publisher=Peters Fraser Dunlop}}</ref> He also edited the Oxford student magazine, ''[[Isis magazine|Isis]]''.<ref name="badscience_about">{{cite web |url=http://www.badscience.net/?page_id=4|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080925151700/http://www.badscience.net/?page_id=4 |archivedate=25 September 2008 |last=Goldacre |first=Ben |title=About Dr Ben Goldacre |accessdate=14 August 2008}}</ref> He was a visiting researcher in [[cognitive neuroscience]] at the [[University of Milan]], working on [[fMRI]] brain scans of language and executive function, and went on to study clinical medicine at [[University College London]] Medical School, qualifying as a medical doctor in 2000.<ref name="GMC list">{{cite web|url= http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/register/LRMP.asp|title=List of Registered Medical Practitioners (The online Register)|publisher=[[General Medical Council]] |accessdate=4 October 2011}}</ref> He also received an MA in philosophy from [[King's College London]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/goldben/a-pre.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070208152026/http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/goldben/a-pre.html|archivedate=2007-02-08|title=Ben Goldacre |publisher=Peters Fraser Dunlop}}
Goldacre was educated at [[Magdalen College School, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldwaynfletes.org/page/FJ |title=Famous Old Waynfletes |year=2009 |publisher=Magdalen College School |accessdate=21 February 2011}}</ref> He studied medicine at [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], where he obtained a first-class honours degree in his preclinical studies in 1995.<ref name=agentbio>{{cite web |url=http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/goldben/a-pre.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070208152026/http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/goldben/a-pre.html|archivedate=8 February |title=Ben Goldacre |publisher=Peters Fraser Dunlop}}</ref> He also edited the Oxford student magazine, ''[[Isis magazine|Isis]]''.<ref name="badscience_about">{{cite web |url=http://www.badscience.net/?page_id=4|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080925151700/http://www.badscience.net/?page_id=4 |archivedate=25 September 2008 |last=Goldacre |first=Ben |title=About Dr Ben Goldacre |accessdate=14 August 2008}}</ref>
Goldacre was a visiting researcher in [[cognitive neuroscience]] at the [[University of Milan]], working on [[fMRI]] brain scans of language and executive function.
Following his studies at the Universities of Oxford and Milan, Goldacre studied clinical medicine at [[University College London]] Medical School, qualifying as a medical doctor in 2000.<ref name="GMC list">{{cite web|url= http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/register/LRMP.asp|title=List of Registered Medical Practitioners (The online Register)|publisher=[[General Medical Council]] |accessdate=4 October 2011}}</ref> He also received an M.A. in philosophy from [[King's College London]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/goldben/a-pre.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070208152026/http://www.pfd.co.uk/clients/goldben/a-pre.html|archivedate=2007-02-08|title=Ben Goldacre |publisher=Peters Fraser Dunlop}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/?p=1255 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20100522101326/http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/?p=1255 |archivedate=22 May 2010 |title=My philosophy: Ben Goldacre |last=Baggini |first=Julian |date=19 May 2010 |publisher=TPM: The Philosophers’ Magazine}}</ref>
*{{cite web|url=http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/?p=1255 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20100522101326/http://www.philosophypress.co.uk/?p=1255 |archivedate=22 May 2010 |title=My philosophy: Ben Goldacre |last=Baggini |first=Julian |date=19 May 2010 |publisher=TPM: The Philosophers’ Magazine}}</ref>


Revision as of 14:03, 31 July 2014

Ben Goldacre
Speaking at TAM London, October 2009
Born1974 (age 49–50)[1]
United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Alma materBA, Magdalen College, Oxford
MB, BS, UCL Medical School (2000)
MA, philosophy, King's College London
MRCPsych (2005)
Occupation(s)Physician, science writer
Known forBad Science (2008), Bad Pharma (2012)
Parent(s)Michael Goldacre
Susan M. Traynor
AwardsAssociation of British Science Writers award for best feature, 2003 and 2005
Honorary Doctor of Science, Heriot-Watt University (2009)
Honorary Doctor of Science, Loughborough University (2010)
Websitebadscience.net

Benjamin Michael "Ben" Goldacre, MRCPsych (born 1974) is a British physician, academic and science writer. As of 2014 he is a Wellcome research fellow in epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.[2] He is a founder of the AllTrials campaign to require open science practices in clinical trials.

Goldacre is known in particular for his "Bad Science" column in The Guardian, and is the author of two books, Bad Science (2008), a critique of irrationality and certain forms of alternative medicine, and Bad Pharma (2012), an examination of the pharmaceutical industry, its publishing and marketing practices, and its relationship with the medical profession.[3] Goldacre frequently delivers free talks about bad science—he describes himself as a "nerd evangelist."[2]

Background

Early life and education

Goldacre is the son of Michael Goldacre, a professor of public health at the University of Oxford, and the pop singer Susan Traynor (a.k.a. Noosha Fox of English 1970s' pop band Fox) fame), both of whom are Australian.[4] He is the nephew of Robyn Williams, a science journalist, and the great-great-grandson of Sir Henry Parkes, a politician and journalist.[5]

Goldacre was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford.[6] He studied medicine at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he obtained a first-class honours degree in his preclinical studies in 1995.[7] He also edited the Oxford student magazine, Isis.[8]

Goldacre was a visiting researcher in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Milan, working on fMRI brain scans of language and executive function.

Following his studies at the Universities of Oxford and Milan, Goldacre studied clinical medicine at University College London Medical School, qualifying as a medical doctor in 2000.[9] He also received an M.A. in philosophy from King's College London.[10]

Medical and academic career

Goldacre passed the MRCPsych Part II examinations in December 2005 and became a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.[11] He was a research fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry in London in 2008,[12] and a Guardian research fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, in 2009.[13]

As of 2012, Goldacre has been Wellcome Research Fellow in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.[2]

Writing

"Bad Science" column

Goldacre is known for his weekly column, "Bad Science," in the Saturday edition of The Guardian, which he started in 2003.[14] Devoted to criticism of scientific inaccuracy, health scares and pseudoscience, the column focuses on the media, marketing, problems with the pharmaceutical industry, and its relationship with medical journals and alternative-medicine practitioners.[15]

He has been a particular critic of the claims of the television nutritionist Gillian McKeith,[16] anti-immunisation campaigners (particularly followers of Andrew Wakefield such as Melanie Phillips[17] and Jeni Barnett),[18] Brain Gym,[19] bogus positive MRSA swab stories in tabloid newspapers,[20] publication bias,[21] and the makers of the product Penta Water.[22] While investigating McKeith's membership of the American Association of Nutritional Consultants, Goldacre purchased a "certified professional membership" on behalf of his late cat, Henrietta, from the same institution for $60.[23] In February 2007 McKeith agreed to stop using the title "Dr" in her advertising, following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority by a "Bad Science" reader.[24] In an interview with Richard Saunders of the podcast Skeptic Zone, Goldacre said, "Nutritionists are particularly toxic because they are the alternative therapists who, more than any other, misrepresent themselves as being men and women of science."[25]

In 2008, Matthias Rath, a vitamin entrepreneur, sued Goldacre and The Guardian over three articles,[26] in which Goldacre criticised Rath's promotion of vitamin pills to AIDS sufferers in South African townships.[27] Rath dropped his action in September 2008 and was ordered to pay initial costs of £220,000 to The Guardian.[27] The paper is seeking full costs of £500,000, and Goldacre has expressed an interest in writing a book about Rath and South Africa, as a chapter on the subject had to be cut from his book while the litigation proceeded.[28] The chapter was reinstated in a later edition of the book, and also published online.[29] Goldacre continues to cite Rath as a proponent of harmful pseudoscience.[30]

Bad Science (2008)

Main article: Bad Science (book)

Goldacre's first book, Bad Science, was published by Fourth Estate in September 2008.[31] The book contains extended and revised versions of many of his Guardian columns. It was positively reviewed by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and The Daily Telegraph, and reached the Top 10 bestseller list for Amazon Books.[32] It was nominated for the 2009 Samuel Johnson Prize.[33][34] In an interview in 2008, Goldacre said that "one of the central themes of my book [Bad Science] is that there are no real differences between the $600 billion pharmaceutical industry and the $50 billion food supplement pill industry."[35]

Bad Pharma (2012)

Main article: Bad Pharma

His second book, Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients, was published in the UK in September 2012 and will be published in the United States and Canada in January 2013.[36] In the book he argues that:

Drugs are tested by the people who manufacture them, in poorly designed trials, on hopelessly small numbers of weird, unrepresentative patients, and analysed using techniques which are flawed by design, in such a way that they exaggerate the benefits of treatments. Unsurprisingly, these trials tend to produce results that favour the manufacturer. When trials throw up results that companies don't like, they are perfectly entitled to hide them from doctors and patients, so we only ever see a distorted picture of any drug's true effects. Regulators see most of the trial data, but only from early on in a drug's life, and even then they don't give this data to doctors or patients, or even to other parts of government. This distorted evidence is then communicated and applied in a distorted fashion. In their forty years of practice after leaving medical school, doctors hear about what works through ad hoc oral traditions, from sales reps, colleagues or journals. But those colleagues can be in the pay of drug companies – often undisclosed – and the journals are too. And so are the patient groups. And finally, academic papers, which everyone thinks of as objective, are often covertly planned and written by people who work directly for the companies, without disclosure.[37]

Other writing

Goldacre also contributed to The Atheist's Guide to Christmas (2009), a charity book featuring essays and anecdotes from 42 well-known atheists and apatheists, on the subject of "the power of ideas".[38] Goldacre describes himself as an apatheist.[39] He also wrote the foreword to the reprint edition of Testing Treatments: Better Research for Better Healthcare by Imogen Evans, Hazel Thornton, Iain Chalmers and Paul Glasziou, published by Pinter & Martin in March 2010. He has had several articles published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on the MMR vaccine,[40] science journalism,[41][42] and related topics.[43][44]

In June 2012, he collaborated with the Behavioural Insights Team of the UK government on a policy paper on the use of randomised controlled trials.[45]

In March 2014, Goldacre worked on a systematic review of the side effects of statins compared with placebos, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.[46] Although many newspapers that covered the review said that it found that statins have "virtually no side effects",[47] Goldacre criticized this coverage as inaccurate. For example, he noted that the study relied on data from trial reports, which are likely to be incomplete.[48]

Awards

Goldacre has won several awards for his journalism, including:

References

  1. ^ Ben Goldacre, Twitter.
  2. ^ a b c Kmietowicz, Zosnia. "Health minister agrees to meet academics to discuss access to clinical trial data", British Medical Journal, 23 October 2012.
  3. ^ "Pick your pill out of a hat", The Economist, 29 September 2012.
  4. ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1080/13623690902943552, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with |doi=10.1080/13623690902943552 instead.
    • Petridis, Alexis (29 May 2011). "Was 1976 pop's worst year? Yes – and this singer was one of the culprits". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "The Science Show". ABC Radio National. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
  6. ^ "Famous Old Waynfletes". Magdalen College School. 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Ben Goldacre". Peters Fraser Dunlop. Archived from the original on 8 February. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  8. ^ Goldacre, Ben. "About Dr Ben Goldacre". Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  9. ^ "List of Registered Medical Practitioners (The online Register)". General Medical Council. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Ben Goldacre". Peters Fraser Dunlop. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007.
  11. ^ "MRCPsych part II examination – Autumn 2005". The Royal College of Psychiatrists. 15 December 2005. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Staff list". Institute of Psychiatry. Retrieved 14 August 2008. [dead link]
  13. ^ Nuffield College Annual Report: Academic Report 2008-2009 (PDF) (Report). Nuffield College, Oxford. 2009.
  14. ^ Goldacre, Ben (27 July 2007). "Bad Science (weekly column)". The Guardian.
  15. ^ Goldacre, Ben. (2008). A quick fix would stop drug firms bending the truth, The Guardian.
  16. ^ Goldacre, Ben (7 February 2007). "Brought to book: the poo lady's PhD". The Guardian.
  17. ^ "The MMR sceptic who just doesn't understand science". Badscience.net. 2 November 2005. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  18. ^ Goldacre, Ben (3 February 2009). "Bad Science Bingo, with Jeni Barnett". Bad Science. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ Goldacre, Ben (25 March 2006). "Exercise the brain without this transparent nonsense". The Guardian.
  20. ^ Goldacre, Ben (19 November 2005). "How many microbiologists does it take to change a tabloid story?". The Guardian.
  21. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2008). Missing in action: the trials that did not make the news. The Guardian.
  22. ^ Goldacre, Ben (10 February 2005). "Troubled water". The Guardian.
  23. ^ Goldacre, Ben (30 September 2004). "Dr Gillian McKeith (PhD) continued". The Guardian.
  24. ^ Gibson, Owen (12 February 2007). "TV dietician to stop using title Dr in adverts". The Guardian.
  25. ^ Saunders, Richard. "The Skeptic Zone #16 - 06.Feb.2009". The Skeptic Zone. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  26. ^ No way to treat an Aids hero, The Guardian, 20 January 2007.
  27. ^ a b Boseley, Sarah (13 September 2008). "Fall of the doctor who said his vitamins would cure Aids". The Guardian.
  28. ^ Goldacre, Ben (12 September 2008). "Matthias Rath drops his million pound legal case against me and the Guardian". badscience.net. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  29. ^ Goldacre, Ben. Matthias Rath – steal this chapter, badscience.net, 9 April 2009.
  30. ^ Saunders, Richard. "The Skeptic Zone #16 - 06.Feb.2009". The Skeptic Zone. Retrieved 14 May 2014. There are bad things happening in medicine and academia but people talk about them, people criticize them, you know, and in the world of alternative therapies, you can be as far out as Matthias Rath and nobody will say a word.
  31. ^ Goldacre, Ben (2008). Bad Science. Fourth Estate. ISBN 978-0-00-724019-7. OCLC 259713114.
  32. ^ Smith, Richard (1 October 2008). "Becoming Ben". BMJ. 337 (337): a1856. doi:10.1136/bmj.a1856.
  33. ^ Goldacre, Ben. "Bad Science (Fourth Estate)". Samuel Johnson Prize. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  34. ^ Lake, Ed (26 September 2008). "Review: Bad Science by Ben Goldacre". The Daily Telegraph.
  35. ^ Ben Goldacre interviewed, The Science Show, Part 2, Australian Broadcasting Company.
  36. ^ "The drugs don't work: a modern medical scandal", The Guardian, 21 September 2012.
  37. ^ Bad Pharma, p. xi.
  38. ^ Atheist Bus – Official Website » The Atheist’s Guide To Christmas (AKA The Atheist Book Campaign)
  39. ^ "BBC News – Five Minutes With: Ben Goldacre". BBC (Interview). Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  40. ^ Attention: This template ({{cite pmid}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by PMID 17634177, please use {{cite journal}} with |pmid=17634177 instead.
  41. ^ Attention: This template ({{cite pmid}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by PMID 17379907, please use {{cite journal}} with |pmid=17379907 instead.
  42. ^ Attention: This template ({{cite pmid}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by PMID 17823189, please use {{cite journal}} with |pmid=17823189 instead.
  43. ^ Attention: This template ({{cite pmid}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by PMID 18048537, please use {{cite journal}} with |pmid=18048537 instead.
  44. ^ Attention: This template ({{cite pmid}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by PMID 17947783, please use {{cite journal}} with |pmid=17947783 instead.
  45. ^ Test, Learn, Adapt: Developing Public Policy with Randomised Controlled Trials
  46. ^ Finegold, J. A.; Manisty, C. H.; Goldacre, B.; Barron, A. J.; Francis, D. P. (12 March 2014). "What proportion of symptomatic side effects in patients taking statins are genuinely caused by the drug? Systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled trials to aid individual patient choice". European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 21 (4): 464–474. doi:10.1177/2047487314525531. PMID 24623264.
  47. ^ Knapton, Sarah (13 March 2014). "Statins have virtually no side-effects, study finds". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  48. ^ Goldacre, Ben (13 March 2014). "Statins have no side effects? What our study really found, its fixable flaws, and why trials transparency matters (again)". Badscience.net. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  49. ^ "Science Writers Awards – Winners 2003". Syngenta ABSW Science Writers' Awards. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)[dead link]
  50. ^ Goldacre, Ben (11 December 2003). "Never mind the facts". The Guardian.
  51. ^ "ABSW Science Writers' Awards – Winners 2005". Syngenta ABSW Science Writers' Awards. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)[dead link]
  52. ^ Goldacre, Ben (8 September 2005). "Don't dumb me down". The Guardian.
  53. ^ "MJA News October/November 2006" (PDF). Medical Journalists Association. 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  54. ^ "2007 Award for statistical excellence in journalism". Royal Statistical Society. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  55. ^ Goldacre, Ben (1 April 2006). "When the facts get in the way of a story". The Guardian.
  56. ^ "Highlights from Newsletter no 62, July 2006". HealthWatch. July 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2008. [dead link]
  57. ^ Heriot-Watt University Graduations: Honorary Graduates
  58. ^ Loughborough University News and Events: Honorary Graduates

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