Automated DSMB Presentation in SAS: Yeah, I'd Submit That! How to Auto Populate PowerPoint Presentations So You Don't Have To - Brett Jepson and Kaitie Lawson, Rho, Inc.

Data & Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) members are increasingly requesting high-level overview presentations to assess the current status of a study in lieu of lengthy binders. When multiple studies report to the same DSMB, a certain level of standardization across presentations is desirable to facilitate ease in understanding and familiarity with the presentation format for the DSMB members. Manually entering text and data into a presentation is tedious and is subject to transcription errors. By utilizing ODS POWERPOINT, the ODSTEXT and ODSLIST procedures, and a series of other familiar SAS® procedures, we have created a suite of SAS macros that automatically populate presentations, therefore eliminating the need to manually enter data. These SAS macros allow for presentations conforming to a general template to be created in a standardized manner which saves time, ensures data accuracy and integrity, and provides continuity in data presentation to DSMB members.

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About the Presenters

Brett Jepson, MS, is a Senior Biostatistician at Rho, Inc. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  He earned a master’s degree in Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2010, and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a Business minor from the University of Utah in 2007.  He has been at Rho since September 2009, where he has supported clinical studies funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).  He has used SAS for 11 years.

Kaitie Fernandez Lawson attended Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee where received a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics with a minor in vocal performance.  She moved to North Carolina in 2009 to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obtain her master’s degree in Biostatistics.  Currently, Kaitie is a Senior Biostatistician at Rho, Inc., a contract research organization in Chapel Hill, NC, where she specializes in the design, implementation, and analysis of food allergy clinical trials funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).  She has used SAS for 9 years.