Dr Steven MacLennan

Biography

Steven MacLennan is a Senior Research Fellow and implementation scientist within the Academic Urology Unit, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen.

His research focuses on translating evidence into clinical practice through implementation science, evidence synthesis, guideline development and international consensus methods. He has over 15 years’ experience leading complex multidisciplinary research programmes designed to improve the quality, safety and value of healthcare.

Steven leads and supports large international collaborations involving clinicians, researchers, policymakers and patients across more than 30 countries. His work spans implementation strategies, behaviour change, core outcome set development, consensus methodology, living evidence synthesis and the evaluation of complex healthcare interventions.

His research has contributed to international clinical guidelines and informed healthcare policy and practice across a range of urological conditions. He has secured competitive research funding from national and international organisations and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.

Alongside his research, Steven is actively involved in postgraduate teaching, doctoral supervision and international methodological training. He contributes to numerous international guideline panels, consensus initiatives and collaborative research networks.

His current research interests include implementation science, healthcare quality improvement, artificial intelligence in evidence synthesis and guideline development, consensus methodology, real-world evidence and improving the translation of research into routine clinical care.

Research Overview

An overview of current projects: 

Core Outcome Set Development Projects

Renal Cancer Core Outcome Sets (R-COS)

In this project, part funded by the Arcobaleno Cancer Trust and NHS Grampian Endowments, we are developing three seperate Core Outcome Sets (COS) for localised, locally advanced, and metastatic stages of kidney cancer. This includes two systematic reviews, an interview study and three Delphi studies. The COMET registration, giving full study details is accessible here: https://www.comet-initiative.org/studies/details/1406  

Bladder Cancer Core Outcome Sets (B-COS) 

In this project, we are developing Core Outcome Sets for the various stages of bladder cancer. Forming the initial statge of the project, we published an article reviewing outcome reporting heterogeneity in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer - accessible here: https://content.iospress.com/articles/bladder-cancer/blc201510

The COMET registration, giving full study details is availabe here: https://www.comet-initiative.org/studies/details/1135

Prostate Cancer Core Outcome Sets

We devleoped a COS for localised prostate cancer. The results can be accessed here: https://bjui-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bju.13854

Our prostate cancer COS work was subsequently updated and incorporated in the PIONEER project. More detail about PIONEER can be viewed here: https://prostate-pioneer.eu/

Implementation Science Projects

IMAGINE (IMpact Assessment of Guidelines Implementation and Education)

IMAGINE is a European Association of Urology (EAU) working group focussing on  mapping adherence to EAU guidelines and, where variation or suboptimal practice is identified, investigating the barriers and facilitators to guideline adherence, and developing implementation interventions to adress the barriers and leverage the facilitators. You can read more about the IMAGINE group in this editorial

RESECT (Transurethral REsection and Single instillation intra-vesical chemotherapy Evaluation in bladder Cancer Treatment (RESECT) Improving quality in TURBT surgery.)

RESECT is a collaborative project with the British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training (BURST) group, including researchers from the Academic Urology Unit and HSRU. A main aim of RESECT is to test intereventions aimed at improving adherence to guidelines around single instilation of chemotherapy adn documentation of the procudure - which have been shown to be associated with improved patient outcomes. You can read more about RESECT here: https://www.bursturology.com/Studies/Resect/Overview/

OPTIMA (OPtimal Treatment for patients wiht solid tumours in Europe through Artificial Intelligence)

OPTIMA is a 34 partners-based  IMI project. The programme aim is to design, develop and deliver the first interoperable and GDPR-compliant European real-world oncology data and evidence generation platform based on the needs of the clinicians and patients, in an inclusive and sustainable way. It will be built on a combination of federated and centralised access to a vast network of European data providers to help answer the highest priority research questions in prostate, breast and lung cancer, especially where current existing evidence underpinning clinical practice guidelines is weak.  In parallel, comprehensive decision support toolsets based on national and international guidelines with approved regular updates of guideline recommendations underpinned by evidence from advanced statistical analysis and AI will be made available to fill the guidelines gaps and better support shared decision making by clinicians and patients.

Deimplementing ADT

There is evidence to suggest that Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) is overused in men with localised prostate cancer. it is unclear why, and it is unclear what the best strategies for deimplementing ADT are. This reserach problem is the focus of Jennifer Dunsmore's PhD project, which Steven is supervising. You can read more about Jennifer and her reserach here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/urology/metis/profiles/j.dunsmore.19

Guideline Development Projects 

Steven sits on the European Association of Urology (EAU) Guidelines Office Methodology Committee. This committee oversees the training of Guidelines Associates through Systematic Review workshops. 

EVOLVE (giving patients a meaningful voice in the design and delivery of care)

EVOLVE is a unique collaboration of a profession society (European Association of Urology), guideline panels, researchers, clinicians and patient representatives to improve guideline development and implementation for genitourinary cancers in Europe.  The aim of the project is to develop a model of patient involvement that will give patients a meaningful voice in the design and delivery of care and will investigate how wider stakeholders can help to integrate the patient voice into guidelines. You can read more about EVOLVE here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/iahs/research/urology/metis/evolve-1618.php

Teaching Responsibilities

Steven contributes to the design, delivery and assessment of the MSc. level courses in the Institute of Applied Health Sciences linked above. He also supervises MSc. dissertations and often supervises medical student summer placements in the Aberdeen Summer Research Scholarship (ASRS) programme. 

Steven currently supervises two PhD. projects and is intersted in supervising any project aligning with his broad interests in the desing and delivery of urology health services.   

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

Alongside formal teaching at the University of Aberdeen, Steven and his colleagues also developed a 2.5 day course for the European Association of Urology (EAU) on systematic reviews for clinical practice guidelines. 

Steven also teaches the systematic review element for the European Organisaiton for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 'clinical trial statistics for non-statisticians' course. https://event.eortc.org/stats2021/