Willem Otte

The brain is a highly mysterious, fascinating, and important organ. I am dedicated to mapping the dynamics of the topological areas in the brain with approaches grounded in network theory. For example, with exponential random graph modeling. This generative, rather than descriptive, method allows quantification of evolutionary features shaping the core brain structure.

Just increasing the knowledge of brain network topologies is not my ultimate goal. With my work on predictive modeling and epidemiology, I have tried to transform new insights into actual benefits for the patient. Global health has my special interest in that. This is a deliberate choice, as the majority of medical recourses are available to just the minority of the people worldwide. In a joint effort we are developing smart and creative methods to overcome major diagnostic and treatment issues in the field of (neuro)disability in resource-poor settings. 

I also try to contribute to the overarching process of scientific (self)reflection. This has materialized in several meta-research papers on statistical power in clinical trials, the 'publication game', and gender distributions. A running project uses big data to predict responsible research practice in clinical trials. Generic Bayesian calibration models are being implemented for lay people’s medical questions.