Applied Epidemiology
Clinical research at 缅北禁地 has strengths in cancer, rare diseases, immunity and inflammation, ageing and regenerative medicine, transplantation and advanced therapies. This high-quality research translates into tangible benefit for patients.
Applied Epidemiology at 缅北禁地
缅北禁地 has a strong track record in the field of applied epidemiology, despite the relatively small number of staff involved (8.4 FTE). Over the REF period, we secured 拢10.9M in grant awards, including large collaborative grants from NIHR PGfAR (拢2.5M), the MRC (拢2.8M) and Guts UK (拢1.25M). These grants underpinned 548 NU-authored publications, with a field-weighted citation index of 1.92, half of which were written with international collaborators.
The three main areas of focus are early life development, cancer and ageing research:
In early life development, the main achievements include:
1) Judith Rankin鈥檚 appointment to the steering committee of EUROlinkCAT, a project to link European registries of children with congenital abnormalities. This project allowed the study of microcephaly and long-term trends in neural tube defects across Europe. As a result, Rankin became the academic lead for Public Health England鈥檚 National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Diseases Registration Service.
2) Research into diabetes in pregnancy identified the limit of periconception blood glucose level, above which the risk of foetal and infant death increased significantly. These results underpinned national NICE guidance.
3) Sensitive engagement with parents who had lost a baby during a multiple pregnancy allowed development of guidelines for healthcare professionals who might not have the knowledge to deal with this unique situation. As a result, practitioners reported an increase in confidence and parents appreciated the small but practical changes in practice that helped them during a traumatic time.
In the field of cancer, our research led to appointments to the UK Government Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment and to National Cancer Research Institute Groups, which developed national guidance on patient monitoring.
Our achievements in ageing research include;
1) our estimates of dementia incidence and prevalence informed PHE diagnostic targets, the Prime Minister鈥檚 dementia challenge and the World Alzheimer鈥檚 Report.
2) our modelling of the ageing population in terms of the needs of health and social care informed a House of Lords Select Committee report; and
3) research into reducing functional decline of older people led to LifecurveTM software, which can be used to match safe, specific interventions to an individual to maintain their independence for longer.
As well as our past achievements, we ensure that we invest in rising academic stars to ensure future excellence: for example, an NIHR Advanced Fellowship was awarded to Nicola Heslehurst (拢900,000). We also support postgraduate researchers: we offer an Epidemiology MRes, a research-based course with a taught component. It provides a springboard into a career that involves a working knowledge of scientific research.