IMS Epidemiology

Seminar - Integrating diverse data sets to improve causal inference
2021-05-05 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Integrating diverse data sets to improve causal inference
Professor Judith Green, University of Exeter.
Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.
About this talk
Evaluating the impact of interventions on public health typically requires diverse data sets, which can be challenging to integrate in analysis. This seminar focuses on experiences of integrating epidemiological and ethnographic analysis to strengthen causal inferences, drawing on two studies of natural experiments (evaluations of the public health impacts of free bus travel and reduced street lighting at night) and a recent systematic review of Qualitative Comparative Analysis in public health.
Better integration may require a broader conceptualisation of causal relationships, attention to the timing of integration within the lifetime of a project, and disciplinary balance in research teams.
About Professor Green
Judith Green is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Philosophy & Anthropology and Director of the Wellcome Centre for Cultures & Environments of Health at the University of Exeter. She has researched and published widely on the sociology of health, health services and public health. Current research interests include mobility, environmental determinants of health and methodology.
She is co-editor of the journal Critical Public Health and co-author of the textbook Qualitative Methods for Health Research.
Twitter: @judegreen
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Anthropometry seminar - Toward a universal body composition assessment using 3D body scan
2021-05-13 15:30 - 16:30 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Unit Anthropometry Seminar:
Toward a universal body composition assessment using 3D body scan
Marcelline Dechenaud, Thecla, LLC.
Professor Steven Heymsfield, Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Watch a recording of this seminar on our YouTube channel.
About this seminar
Digital anthropometric (DA) assessments are increasingly being administered with 3D optical devices in clinical settings that manage patients with obesity and related metabolic disorders. However, anatomic measurement sites are not standardized across manufacturers, precluding use of published reference values and pooling of data across research centers.
Our group developed “universal” 3D analysis software by applying novel programming strategies capable of producing device-independent DA estimates that agree with conventional anthropometric measurements made at well-defined anatomic sites. Availability of this software, with future refinements, will facilitate clinical applications and creation of large pooled uniform anthropometric databases that can provide new insights into a wide range of research topics.
About Marcelline Dechenaud
Marcelline Dechenaud received an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Université Lyon I in France in 2018 and a MS in Motor Behavior from the Kinesiology department of Louisiana State University in 2020. She has co-developed a universal 3D analysis software and authored 10 peer reviewed publications on body composition and 3D body scan technology. She has co-founded a company that aims to merge and make available clinical body composition data from research groups around the globe. Her current position is manager of the R&D department of Thecla, LLC based in Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
About Professor Steven Heymsfield
Steven B. Heymsfield, M.D. is Professor and Director of the Body Composition-Metabolism Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of the Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge. Dr. Heymsfield has published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers covering topics such as obesity, malnutrition, cachexia, body composition, and caloric expenditure. His contributions to the study of human nutrition led to the TOPS Award and George Bray Founders Award from The Obesity Society (TOS), the Rhoads Award from the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), the Robert H. Herman Memorial Award, American Society of Nutrition (ASN). Professor Heymsfield is past president of ASPEN, ASN and TOS.
Explore past seminars
All MRC Epidemiology Unit seminars and events where slides, audio or video are available can be found at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-seminars/
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Seminar - Global surveillance of young people’s physical activity
2021-06-18 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Global surveillance of young people’s physical activity

Dr Regina Guthold, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent health and Ageing Department, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.
Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.
About this talk
This presentation will describe the WHO Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for children and adolescents aged 5-17 years. Health benefits that can be achieved by young people being sufficiently active will be outlined. Global data on the percentage of young people meeting these guidelines will then be presented, along with data on other specific aspects of physical activity. The presentation will conclude by describing global strategies on getting children and adolescents moving, as per the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030.
About Dr Guthold
Regina Guthold, PhD, is a Scientist working on adolescent health monitoring and evaluation in the Department for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health at the World Health Organization. She holds a PhD in Health Sciences, along with two Master’s degrees (Public Health and Sport Science).
Regina has over 10 years’ work experience in surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of population health, with a focus on physical activity. She has supported governments of over 50 countries around the world in the implementation of surveillance systems. Regina is passionate about improving the health of adolescents globally, through better understanding and using health data, and through supporting positive change of environments to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Explore past seminars
All MRC Epidemiology Unit seminars and events where slides, audio or video are available can be found at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-seminars/
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The Broken Plate 2021 - Food Foundation event
2021-07-07 14:00 - 15:00 (Europe/Paris)
Wednesday 7 July, 2pm
Register here to be sent a Zoom link for the event.
Researchers from CEDAR at the MRC Epidemiology Unit have, for the third year in a row, contributed to the Food Foundation’s annual Broken Plate report.
Each year the report tracks progress against 10 metrics that illustrate the health of our food system. These statistics are widely quoted, and make the case for bold action.
This year’s report demonstrates that the food environment is skewed towards less healthy options, and that healthier foods are much less accessible and affordable for those on lower incomes. It powerfully shows why we must change the food environment so that it delivers healthy and sustainable diets for everyone.
Join this webinar to find out more about the findings and their implications for future policy.
The event will be chaired by Laura Sandys MBE. The speakers are:
Advertising – Barbara Crowther, Sustain
Affordability of a healthy diet – Kathleen Kerridge, Chair of The Food Foundation’s Lived Experience Panel
The cost of food – Dr Jean Adams, CEDAR, MRC Epidemiology Unit
Wages – Nye Cominetti, Resolution Foundation
Products with too much sugar – Dr Kawther Hashem and Sonia Pombo, Action on Sugar
Products with too little veg – Simon Billing, Eating Better

Seminar- Policymaking: why it matters to us, how it works, what to do
2021-07-19 12:00 - 13:15 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Policymaking: why it matters to us, how it works, what to do
Dolly Theis (MRC Epidemiology Unit), Dr Kelly Parsons (University Of Hertfordshire) & Dame Una O’Brien (Independent advisor and expert on health policy).
Watch a recording of this panel discussion online.
About this talk
Why is it so difficult for UK governments to make progress on tackling obesity and food systems? In this seminar, three experts will present their research and insights of policy and practice in England. The seminar will then provide discussion about how the current government could make change in policies and systems to be more sustainable manner.
Dolly Theis
It was in 1991 that the UK government first formally recognised its role in tackling obesity and set the first obesity reduction targets. Since then, our analysis found that the UK government has published 14 obesity strategies in England containing almost 700 policies and yet these have largely been unfit for purpose. Despite there being a wide range of policy types proposed from information campaigns and school policies to stronger levers such as the soft drinks industry levy and more recent policies on unhealthy advertising and promotions, the government policies have largely been proposed in a way that means they’re unlikely to be implemented. There has also been little to no policy learning and government has focused on getting people to change their own behaviour without making that easy by shaping the environment and other wider determinants.
Dr Kelly Parsons
Policies have been described as the ‘control knobs’ that can be adjusted to achieve system change, so understanding how policy does, or could, influence food systems is an important part of catalysing their transformation. Gaining this understanding requires breaking down sectoral and disciplinary silos to consider food-related policies as a whole, and interrogating the policymaking processes and governance structures which shape those policies.
This presentation will share insights from my research into how different policies, policy processes and governance structures enable and constrain food systems change. I will discuss how common frameworks for understanding and acting on food systems – such as mapping who makes policy, or detailing the range of possible policy levers – can support collaboration across government, between disciplines, and between research and policy. I will also propose a research agenda to address current evidence gaps around food policymaking.
Dame Una O’Brien
Dame Una O’Brien will give a response to the latest research presented by Dolly Thesis and Dr Kelly Parsons, and share insights from her own experience of policy and practice in England. The aim will be to contribute to the debate about practical steps the current government could take to put change on a more sustainable basis.
About the speakers
Dolly Theis
Dolly Theis is completing her PhD at the MRC Epidemiology Unit in the University of Cambridge supervised by Professor Martin White and Dr Dennis Grube. Her research examines what influences government policymaking, how governments use and understand scientific research, and understanding the particular role of policy entrepreneurs.
Dr Kelly Parsons
Dr Kelly Parsons is a food policy and governance research fellow at the University of Hertfordshire. Her research focus is food systems policies, policymaking processes and governance structures, at global, EU, national and local levels. Kelly has a particular interest in exploring connections in the food system, and efforts to create more integrated and coherent food policy. She produced the first mapping of government food policy, and is author of a series of accessible briefs on food systems, integrated food policy, policy coherence, and food governance, and ‘Connecting Food Systems for Co-Benefits’. She is a European Commission-appointed expert, and has acted as advisor on several food systems research projects. She has a PhD in food policy and a Masters in food and nutrition policy, from the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London. Before becoming a researcher Kelly worked in food civil society delivering ground-level urban food systems change, and as a journalist.
Dame Una O’Brien
Dame Una O’Brien is a former public servant in the UK Department of Health and NHS. From 2010-2016 she was the department’s Permanent Secretary and previously held a wide variety of senior strategy, policy and delivery roles in health and healthcare. Currently she is on the Council of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and she serves on an advisory board for the Obesity Health Alliance’s forthcoming Healthy Weight Strategy.

Open Cambridge - What does the UK eat? The national diet down through the decades.
2021-09-15 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
Spoonful by spoonful: measuring what we eat through the decades.
All are invited to join our dietary assessment experts Angela Mulligan and Dr Toni Steer for an interactive online Open Cambridge event that goes behind the scenes of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.
Free registration: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMofumorzwsHNGgpa6Fn1RNvzg-sh_FhajB
Learn about how the Survey has played its part in dietary guidelines and our health, muse on the trends in foods and fads that have come and gone, raise your eyebrows at the level of detail we work at, and chuckle at the funny bits: even dietary assessment has its light-hearted moments!
Enjoy some do-it-yourself dietary assessment in your own home, be prepared to dig out plates, bowls and weighing scales, if you have them, and you can experience the challenges we face. You will also have a chance to complete your own online diet recall with instant dietary feedback.

Workshop for Accelerometry Measurement Africa (WAMAA)
2021-10-05 - 2021-10-07 | Online, United Kingdom
Registration is now open for the online Workshop for Accelerometry Measurement in Africa (WAMAA), which will take place over three days from Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 October 2021.
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for mortality and one of the four main risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs); with 80% of deaths from NCDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Evidence to design better physical activity interventions in LMICs across the life course is urgently needed, and this requires accurate ways of measuring free-living physical activity levels including light unstructured activities.
The Unit is partnering with the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa to deliver the Workshop, which is funded by Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund and supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre Measurement Platform. WAMAA aims to support African researchers conducting physical activity research with varying study objectives. The course is primarily aimed at researchers and students interested or involved in the objective monitoring of free-living physical activity. It is important that those attending the workshop implement their learning and disseminate the knowledge acquired in their own research institutions.
There is no charge for this workshop, however it is expected to attract delegates from all over Africa and spaces are limited.
Applications are now open and the closing date is Friday 27th August 2021.

More information and application details

Seminar - Using administrative data linkage to create electronic birth cohorts: opportunities and challenges
2021-12-07 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Using administrative data linkage to create electronic birth cohorts: opportunities and challenges
Dr Katie Harron, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
Watch a recording of this talk online.
About this talk
Linkage of administrative data from different sources can help us better understand the distribution of health and disease in populations. Linking data for mothers and babies allows us to create electronic cohort studies that cover a high proportion of the population, and to generate highly generalisable evidence to inform public policy. However, linkage is not always straightforward, particularly when we would like to link cross-sectoral data in order to understand social determinants of health. In this talk, I will discuss some of the opportunities for research using electronic birth cohorts, and some of the challenges that we should try to address when using these data for research.
About Dr Harron
Katie is an Associate Professor in quantitative methods at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Her methodological research aims to develop methods to exploit the rich data that are collected about populations as we interact with services throughout our lives. Katie’s applied research focuses on maximising the use of existing data sources to improve services for vulnerable mothers and families. Her current research links data from health, education and social care at a national level, in order to improve our understanding of the health of individuals from birth to young adulthood.
Twitter: @klharron
Explore past seminars
All MRC Epidemiology Unit seminars and events where slides, audio or video are available can be found at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-seminars/
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Anthropometry Webinar 2022: Obesity Phenotypes from BMI to MRI throughout the life course
2022-02-08 08:00 - 2022-03-16 17:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
MRC Epidemiology Unit is excited to announce that the event “Anthropometry Webinar: Obesity Phenotypes from BMI to MRI throughout the life course” will be running again from 8 February 2022.
In addition to the content from the last Anthropometry Webinar, we have new talks on wearable technologies and smartphone cameras to assess body geometry, and how to assess sarcopenia in the presence of obesity and ageing.
Find out more about course content, who the webinar is for, and who attendees will learn with on the Anthropometry Webinar webpage, which also has information about course deadlines and fees.
Register here to attend the Anthropometry Webinar.
Registration deadline: 11 February 2022

Seminar - Is ‘place’ the key to better and more equal population health?
2022-03-15 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Is ‘place’ the key to better and more equal population health?
Professor Rich Mitchell, University of Glasgow
Watch a recording of this seminar.
About this talk
The MRC funds a programme of research on places and health at the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (SPHSU) in Glasgow. Why the heck would they do that? Why is an understanding of place at the heart of national and local efforts to improve and equalise health? In this talk Rich Mitchell will describe a fusion of old ideas (why do we have healthier and sicker places and do these make healthier and sicker people) with new technologies (GPS, GIS, ABM and other acronyms) that might just enable ‘place’ to sit at the heart of better and more equal population health.
About Professor Mitchell
Rich Mitchell is Professor of Health and Environment and leads the Places and Health Programme at the SPHSU at the University of Glasgow. He is also co-director of the Centre for Research on Environment, Society and Health, an interdisciplinary centre focused on how physical and social environments can influence population health, for better and for worse. Rich is an epidemiologist and geographer. Earlier in his career he focused on monitoring and measuring inequalities in health. Today, his focus is on the potential for our environment to positively influence population health and health inequalities. He is particularly interested in understanding how places are part of the complex social and environmental systems which affect health and behaviour.
Explore past seminars
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Seminar - Using time use and trajectory data to unpack the interrelated geographies of food, care, and household labor
2022-06-28 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Using time use and trajectory data to unpack the interrelated geographies of food, care, and household labor
Dr Michael Widener, University of Toronto
This will be a hybrid seminar.
The in-person event will be held in MRC Epidemiology Unit Meeting Rooms 1&2, Level 3 Institute of Metabolic Science, CB2 0SL. To attend this please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mrc-epidemiology-unit-seminar-michael-widener-tickets-348092723707.
To join this seminar online please register at https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUodeqoqTMsGtYiTljGY6poVlb1eslem7ZM#/registration. After registration you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the event.
About this talk
In quantitative health geography, researchers often struggle to incorporate contextual factors that influence health behaviours. This is especially true in studies using GPS data, where human trajectories are described, analyzed, and related to relevant outcomes, but which commonly fail to address the social and environmental mechanisms that impact movements. While it is impossible to fully understand the motivations of individuals, theories exist to support geographers in their use of trajectory data to conduct analyses that better get at relevant underlying mechanisms.
In this talk, Dr Widener will introduce the Food Activities, Socioeconomics, Time-use, and Transportation (FASTT) Study, a project that integrates concepts of time geography with theories from food and health geographies. In March 2019, FASTT collected time-use diaries, GPS trajectory data, and dietary/health questionnaires from partnered-parents in households from two Toronto neighbourhoods – one urban and one suburban. These data are used to explore questions about time pressure and dietary behaviour, the division of food and household labour, and the role of the built environment in food shopping. He will present findings from initial analyses and discuss implications for future work.
About Dr Widener
Michael J. Widener is a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Transportation and Health at the University of Toronto – St. George. He also serves as the Director of Health Studies at University College, and as an Associate Professor in Geography and Planning, with a cross-appointment in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Outside of UofT, Dr. Widener serves on various journals’ editorial boards, is a member of CIHR’s College of Reviewers, co-leads the Social and Health Factors Cluster of the Network of European Communication & Transportation Activity Researchers, and co-chairs the Prioritizing Populations theme of the Mobilizing Justice Partnership.
Dr. Widener is a health geographer whose research focuses on how public health affects, and is affected by, movement and transportation systems. His primary project at the moment is an exploration of how time pressure, transportation options, and divisions of household labour impact access to food and dietary behaviours. Additional studies are focused on the links between mobility, mental health, and isolation for older adult populations, and on how advanced geospatial technologies (like GPS) can be used to provide useful insights for public health policy. In the classroom, Dr. Widener teaches courses on geographic information science, mapping health data, and spatial statistics at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Explore past seminars
All MRC Epidemiology Unit seminars and events where slides, audio or video are available can be found at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-seminars/
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Your information and preferences
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Beyond our use of Zoom and eventbrite for registration purposes, we do not share your personal information with any other services or departments outside of the MRC Epidemiology Unit.
This seminar will be recorded and may subsequently be shared on our YouTube channel and at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-seminars/. Your name may appear on the recording, and if your camera or microphone is on your image or voice may also be recorded. Please note that we will not share a recording of the Q&A/discussion part of the seminar.
For more information about how we handle your personal information, and your rights under data protection legislation, please visit: www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/general-data. If you have any questions about how we use your information please do get in touch: comms@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk

Seminar - Historical and contemporary perspectives of the nutrition transition
2022-07-05 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Historical and contemporary perspectives of the nutrition transition
Dr Cornelia Guell, University of Exeter
This seminar was originally scheduled for Thursday 16 June, but has been rescheduled to Tuesday 5 July.
To join this online seminar please register at https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYtc-yrrzkuGtfDuR5wpvvrSPT-S6yVWG20.
After registration you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the event.
About this talk
Global shifts in dietary patterns away from fresh produce towards highly processed foods are also experienced in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Many SIDS lead global rates in obesity and noncommunicable chronic diseases, and drivers for their ‘nutrition transition’ are complex and include an increasing reliance on cheap nutrient-poor food imports. This talk will share perspectives from Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Fiji and make a case for the need to understand the temporal complexities and lived histories of food practices to inform contemporary public health strategies for healthier local diets.
About Dr Guell
Dr Cornelia (Conny) Guell is the interim co-director of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health with Dr Ben Wheeler.
Conny is a medical anthropologist with an interest in a) socio-cultural environments of health and social theoretical approaches to health behaviour and behaviour change with a focus on food systems and mobility practices. b) methods development of participatory, citizen-science approaches and knowledge exchange; and c) policy and historical analysis of structural approaches to noncommunicable chronic diseases.
Explore past seminars
All MRC Epidemiology Unit seminars and events where slides, audio or video are available can be found at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-seminars/
Sign up for future seminars
To sign up for future seminars and/or other alerts please visit www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/subscribe/
You can also use this link to update your preferences at any time. Or unsubscribe from all future emails at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/unsubscribe/
We use the personal information you give us so we can provide you with the notifications you select. Further information about your information and preferences can be found at the links above.
Your information and preferences
We use Zoom to register participants for our online seminars, so for this purpose your email address is received by Zoom for processing in accordance with their Privacy Statement and Terms.
We use eventbrite to register participants for our in-person seminars, so for this purpose your email address is received by eventbrite for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Beyond our use of Zoom and eventbrite for registration purposes, we do not share your personal information with any other services or departments outside of the MRC Epidemiology Unit.
This seminar will be recorded and may subsequently be shared on our YouTube channel and at www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-seminars/. Your name may appear on the recording, and if your camera or microphone is on your image or voice may also be recorded. Please note that we will not share a recording of the Q&A/discussion part of the seminar.
For more information about how we handle your personal information, and your rights under data protection legislation, please visit: www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/general-data. If you have any questions about how we use your information please do get in touch: comms@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk

Physical Activity Measurement Seminar 2022
2022-09-05 09:00 - 2022-09-09 17:00 UTC | Moller Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge, CB3 0DE, United Kingdom
From 5–9 September 2022, the MRC Epidemiology Unit will be holding its 10th Physical Activity Measurement Seminar at The Møller Institute in Cambridge, UK.
The course is primarily aimed at Research Assistants and PhD students interested or involved in the objective monitoring of free-living physical activity. However, anyone interested in this area of research is more than welcome to apply.
The seminar takes the format of a 5 day intensive residential course at the Møller Institute in Cambridge, is expected to attract delegates from all over the world.
Register to attend the Physical Activity Measurement Seminar 2022
A maximum of 26 places are available, and that the closing date for applications is Friday 6 May 2022.
Details of how to apply, as well as more information about the programme, venue, and cost of attendance, are available on the Physical Activity Measurement Seminar 2022 webpages.
About the Physical Activity Measurement Seminar
The course is a mixture of lectures, practical workshops and tutorials in the measurement of physical activity in the epidemiological setting, and aims to promote high quality data collection through understanding of the underlying principles of measurement and data analysis. The programme is designed to cover the whole process of methodological considerations, data collection (in the field and lab settings), operational issues and analysis and interpretation of data.
The course has a primary focus on the objective measurement of physical activity and key themes include the following:

Accelerometry
Heart rate monitoring
Combined sensing (heart rate & movement)
Individual calibration / fitness assessment
Self-report measures

In addition, there will be a number of introductory lectures on other methods & concepts relating to the measurement of physical activity in the epidemiological setting.
Delegates will be encouraged to be interactive in demonstrations and workshops. There will be hands-on experience working with monitors, wearing monitors throughout the week, and opportunities for exploring, processing and analysing this data.

Wolfson College Seminar - The Continuing Rise of Non-Communicable Diseases as a Major Challenge to Global Health and Development
2022-10-07 17:45 - 19:15 UTC | Lee Hall, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Barton Road, Cambridge, CB3 9BB, Wolfson College, Cambridge, CB3 9BB
In this seminar, Professor Ala Alwan will describe how the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) impacts on global health and development. Based on his extensive experience as an international public health leader at WHO, he will discuss the global journey to addressing NCDs and the lessons learned. He will discuss barriers to progress and potential ways forward. He will engage in a facilitated discussion with a panel of students and fellows from the College and with the audience to discuss issues raised by his talk and his experiences as a global and country-level leader.
Attendance is free, but please register in advance. Full details and registration at https://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/about/events/continuing-rise-non-communicable-diseases
About Professor Ala Alwan
Professor Ala Alwan is an international public health leader who has held senior roles in the World Health Organization (WHO) including being Head of WHO Country Offices, Director of key public health programs, Assistant Director-General at WHO headquarters, and Regional Director for the Middle East (EMRO). He has a distinguished track record in improving prevention and response to non-communicable diseases, mental health disorders, health security threats, health emergencies and crises management, environmental health threats, violence, road safety, and nutritional challenges. He has also held key country-level roles, including being Minister of Health and Minister of Education in Iraq.

Food for Thought Panel Talk - The Government’s Healthy Eating Strategy: Can we afford to scrap it?
2022-10-11 17:00 - 18:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
What harm does junk food really do us? Do we need legislation to control its consumption?
All are invited to join a panel discussion organised by Cambridge Global Food Security and Cambridge Public Health, Interdisciplinary Research Centres at the University of Cambridge.
A distinguished panel of experts on public health and government policy, behaviour change and the genetics of obesity will unpack the issues, discuss possible solutions and answer your questions.
More information and free registration (required): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-governments-healthy-eating-strategy-can-we-afford-to-scrap-it-tickets-425663269297
Chair
Professor Carol Brayne, Director of Cambridge Public Health, University of Cambridge and Professor of Public Health Medicine.
Panel members

Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge.
Professor Giles Yeo MBE, Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology at the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, University of Cambridge.
Dr Dolly Theis, MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge.

Population Health, Urbanisation and Climate Change Roundtable
2022-10-19 17:30 - 21:00 UTC | Lee Hall, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Barton Road, Cambridge, CB3 9BB, Wolfson College, Cambridge, CB3 9BB
Over 30 PIs and ECRs from South Africa, Jamaica, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Brazil will be in Cambridge attending the Global Diet and Activity Research network annual meeting. This evening round table event at Wolfson College will comprise panel discussions with two of the Principal Investigators from Nigeria and Cameroon, Taibat Lawanson & Felix K. Assah, to take advantage of having such a global group of researchers together under one roof, and to expose and connect them and their work to a wider Cambridge audience.
This will be followed by an interactive discussion on multisectoral approaches to increasing access to health-enabling urban environments. Following the structured discussions, Wolfson will host a networking dinner, to stimulate interactions between visiting ECRs and a broader group of Cambridge ECRs, postgraduate students and the wider community.
Register for free to attend this event.
Speakers
Taibat Lawanson is Professor of Urban Management and Governance at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. Her research focuses on the interface of social complexities, urban realities and the pursuit of spatial justice in Africa. She is well known for her inter-sectoral work which engages students, policy makers, local communities and civil society actors.
Speaking from an urban justice context, she will share her research on inclusive public space and physical activity, and participatory approaches to developing community resilience action plans in Lagos
Felix K. Assah is a Physician and Senior Lecturer of Epidemiology and Public Health at The University of Yaoundé I, and Deputy Director of the Health of Population in Transition Research Group, Yaoundé, Cameroon. His research interests are in the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases and their risk factors, focussing on understanding the upstream determinants and changing patterns of lifestyle risk factors (diet and physical activity) in populations undergoing transition (urbanisation and westernisation).
He will share his experience working with adolescents in schools on their food and physical activity environments and exposures with a view of co-creating and promoting healthy behaviours in this vulnerable group
Details
Event programme:
17.30 – Networking drinks
18.00 – Talks and Q&A
19.30 – Networking Buffet with researchers from the Global Diet and Activity Research Network
Please note that reservations for the Networking Buffet close at 12.00 on Monday 17 October. Reservations are available on a first-come first-served basis.

Seminar - Moving beyond one-size-fits-all: Exploring patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour across the lifespan
2022-11-01 14:00 - 15:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Moving beyond one-size-fits-all: Exploring patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour across the lifespan
Dr Gregore Mielke, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland
This hybrid seminar will be held in MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and online.
Free registration to join this seminar online at:
https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvdeCqrzwoH92KbfSBIeRZrydGwWEtAcNS
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
About this talk
Although the importance of physical activity for health is well established, much assumed knowledge in this field is based on methods that classify people as ‘active’ or ‘inactive’ at one time point and do not account for changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviour across the lifespan. The wide variation in patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in everyday life raises questions about the weakness of the traditional ‘one-size fits all’ approach used to explore relationships between physical activity and health.
About Dr Mielke
Dr Gregore Mielke is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Australia. His research focuses on measuring and understanding 1) patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour across the lifespan; and 2) inequalities in population health. During his short career (PhD awarded in 2017), most of his work has involved multidisciplinary research, transitioning from an early focus on physical education to the behavioural epidemiology of physical activity.
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Seminar - Realising the health potential through sustainable built environment designs
2022-11-24 15:00 - 16:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Realising the health potential through sustainable built environment designs
Dr Ronita Bardhan, Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge
This hybrid seminar was held in MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and online.
Watch a recording.
About Dr Bardhan
Dr Ronita Bardhan is an architectural engineer and urban studies educator, with a PhD in urban engineering. She believes that data-driven intelligence of built environments can effectively address sustainability goals and policies. Her research is in the niche sector of the sustainable built environment to inform health and energy decisions in the changing climate and low-income communities. Bardhan uses data-driven methods that couples architectural engineering, AI and machine learning with social sciences to provided built environment solutions for health in resources constraint societies. Her tractable research informs demand-side design solutions using digital tools which positively affects well-being, energy security, and gender equality while entailing fewer environmental risks. Bardhan works in Slum Rehabilitation (social) housing (in India, Indonesia, Ethiopia, South Africa and Brazil).
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Seminar - Diabetes No More: lessons from the DiRECT trial and beyond
2023-02-20 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Meeting rooms, Level 4 Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Treatment Centre (ATC), Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Diabetes No More: lessons from the DiRECT trial and beyond
Professor Mike Lean, University of Glasgow
This hybrid seminar was held in the meeting rooms, Level 4, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Watch a recording of this seminar on YouTube.
About this talk
Three RCT trials, conducted entirely in primary care using low-calorie formula diets for 8-12 weeks, have reported remissions for 40-60% of participants including South Asians, and 70-80% with weight loss >10kg, well maintained at 2 years. Hypertension and NAFLD, commonly accompanying T2D, normalized for ~30%. Remission was accompanied by normalization of ectopic fat in liver and pancreas, and insulin production capacity. With fewer serious adverse events, total medical care costs fell and cost-effectiveness analysis projected people to live longer, feel better and cost less. Remissions are strongly driven by weight loss, but new methods are needed to support longer maintenance.
About Professor Lean

Visiting professor at University of Otago, and University of Sydney.
Established the first Department of Human Nutrition in a Scottish Medical School, 1990- initially funded 10 years by Rank Prize Funds.
‘Broad-focus’ strategy: translational, integrative, research and teaching, across all scientific disciplines within Human Nutrition.
Main focusses are on obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and health promotion.
Awards include Diabetes UK-Rank Prize Lecture (2014), Banting Memorial Lecture (2020-21), Tenovus Medal for Research (2017)
Elected FRSE (National Academy of Scotland) (2018).

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Seminar - Obesity Prevention: The role of evidence in the policy cycle
2023-03-13 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Obesity Prevention: The role of evidence in the policy cycle
Dr Tazeem Bhatia, Office of Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care
This hybrid seminar was held in the MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Watch a recording of this seminar on YouTube.
About this talk
Obesity, metabolic disorders and the resulting non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease, are a huge, global public health challenge. In the UK, the estimated annual cost of obesity to the NHS is £6.5 billion and wider society £58 billion. How do we use evidence in primary prevention policy? What are the opportunities for enhancing the relationship between evidence and policy?
About Dr Bhatia
Tazeem Bhatia is a Public Health Consultant and Primary Care physician with 20 years’ experience of medical and public health practice in England and other health systems across the world. Currently, she is responsible for the Nutrition Science and Evidence Function in the Diet, Obesity and Healthy Behaviours Directorate, in the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities, part of the Department of Health and Social Care. Previously, she has represented the UK/England dietary landscape, obesity policies and programmes internationally for Public Health England.
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Cambridge Festival: Can we tell your health fortune? Can you outrun it?
2023-03-18 11:00 - 16:00 UTC | Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology, Robinson Way, CB2 0SZ, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0SZ, United Kingdom
How much exercise you need to do to burn off the energy in one sugar cube? Did you know that molecules in blood can tell us what people eat and drink, their health, and even their future risk of developing heart disease or diabetes? How can our neighbourhoods influence what we eat?
Join scientists from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at this free drop-in Cambridge Festival event to explore how our genes, behaviour and environment influence the risk of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases.
When: Saturday 18 March 2023, 11 AM – 4 PM
Where: Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SZ
About this Cambridge Festival event
Have you ever wondered how much exercise you need to do to burn off the energy in just one sugar cube? Take our Sugar Cube Challenge and find out!
Tiny molecules called biomarkers that are found in blood can tell us a lot about what people eat and drink, their health, and even their future risk of developing heart disease or diabetes. In ‘Fortune Telling Molecules’, you can pick a card, spin the wheel and see what fortune may have in store.
In our ‘Welcome to the Snackingtons’ game, you can explore how the places where we live, work and play shape what we eat.
At the MRC Epidemiology Unit, we investigate the interplay between our genes, behaviour and environment that contributes to the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and related health conditions. Our scientists use a wide range of technologies and approaches in studies involving anything from a few dozen to half a million participants to discover how different factors influence our risk of developing disease. This better understanding of the individual and combined effects of these risk factors helps us to develop and evaluate strategies to prevent obesity, and type 2 diabetes, and to improve the health of individuals and communities.

Seminar - Physical Activity research: strengthening ties between Brazil and the United Kingdom
2023-03-20 14:00 - 15:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Physical Activity research: strengthening ties between Brazil and the United Kingdom
Dr Samuel Dumith, Federal University of Rio Grande, Brazil
This hybrid seminar was held in the MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Watch a recording of this seminar on youtube.
About Dr Dumith
Dr Samuel Dumith has a degree in physical education, with post graduate degree in epidemiology. He is a professor of biostatistics at the Faculty of Medicine of the Federal University of Rio Grande. His main research area is on physical activity epidemiology, with a special interest in interventions with scholars. Recently, he worked on the construction of the physical activity guidelines for the Brazilian population.
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Cambridge Festival: Growing up in a changing environment - What really influences what young people eat?
2023-03-29 19:30 - 20:30 UTC | Lecture theatre A, Lecture theatre A, University of Cambridge Admissions Office, New Museums site, Bene't Street, cambridge, CB2 3PT
This in person Cambridge Festival talk will investigate the food choices of adolescents and young adults, and the wide range of factors that may influence the food eaten across this period of life.
Dr Eleanor Winpenny, Dr Tiago Canelas and Mr Struan Tait from the MRC Epidemiology Unit will share their research from the UK and abroad, focusing on young people’s diets and the influence of changing home, institutional and built environments.
When: Wednesday 29 March 2023, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Where: Lecture theatre A, University of Cambridge Admissions Office, New Museums site, Bene’t Street, Cambridge CB2 3PT
Watch a recording of this Cambridge Festival event
About this Cambridge Festival talk
The period of life from adolescence to early adulthood is emerging as a key time for development of future health, including sharp increases in overweight and obesity during this period, and the development of health habits which then persist through adult life. However, young people’s diets may change a lot during this period, driven by changes in living arrangements, the move from education to employment, and moves to different neighbourhoods.
In this interactive lecture we will present evidence from recent research, investigating how people’s diet changes as they go through adolescence and early adulthood, and the different lifestyle changes that appear to drive changes in diet. We will discuss the influence of different food environments, inviting contributions from the audience to consider their own food environments and how these influence their food choices. We will then discuss the food environments experienced in other contexts both within the UK and in other countries (e.g. Cameroon, South Africa and Nigeria) to explore how these different food environments may be linked to healthy or less healthy diets.
Audience Participation: before the event we would like to invite you to send us photos of features in your environment that you think influence what you eat. Please send any photos to CambridgeFestival@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk Please make sure that photos do not include recognizable people, unless you have their consent.

Seminar - Prioritising Adolescent Health in the Digital Age: Minimising Harm and Maximising Benefits of Technology
2023-04-05 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Prioritising Adolescent Health in the Digital Age: Minimising Harm and Maximising Benefits of Technology
Dr Stephanie Partridge, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
This hybrid seminar will be held in the MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Register to attend in-person at : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/prioritising-adolescent-health-in-the-digital-age-stephanie-partridge-tickets-598407331437
Register to join this seminar online at: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIoc-yqqDMoE9Xy_E4gqmIv_gCZLcsp0gDL
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
About this talk
Today there are more young people alive than at any other point in history – 1.8 billion. We must prioritize their right to good health and optimal nutrition, but current research approaches have fallen short of meeting their needs. In Australia, 9 out of 10 young people fail to consume a healthy, well-balanced diet or engage in sufficient physical activity. This places them at a heightened risk of developing serious health issues like obesity and mental health problems.
Digital technology influences adolescent health decisions and potentially damages and enhances their lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes. This presentation will discuss the double-edged sword of technology and strategies to prevent chronic diseases among adolescents.
About Dr Partridge
Dr Stephanie Partridge is a Senior Research Fellow and National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow at the University of Sydney. Her research is focused on harnessing digital technology to improve the lifestyle behaviours of adolescents to keep them healthy and productive throughout their life. Her research is centred on digital health and strongly focuses on research translation. She applies an adolescent rights approach to her research by incorporating direct adolescent participation and research co-production.
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Seminar - Agent based Modelling for Urban Health Impact Assessment
2023-05-12 09:00 - 10:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Agent based Modelling for Urban Health Impact Assessment
Tabea Sonnenschein, University of Utrecht
This hybrid seminar will be held in the MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Register to attend in-person at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tabea-sonnenschein-agent-based-modelling-for-urban-health-impact-assessmen-tickets-604874916157
Register to join this seminar online at: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwuce2hqTMoHdI1mSwPdmepMS_e1NukY_Ml#/registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
About this talk
Implementing interventions that tackle the Exposome in complex urban systems can be costly and have long-term, sometimes unforeseen, impacts. Hence, it is crucial to assess the health and social impacts of possible urban exposome interventions before implementing them. Spatial agent-based modelling can capture complex behaviour-environment interactions, exposure dynamics, and social outcomes in a spatial context. We present our work on agent-based modeling of transport interventions in Amsterdam.
Our agent-based modeling approach entails the integration of behavioural models of people’s mobility choices and dynamic physical models of environmental stressors (NO2, Noise). The interaction of these sub-models approximates personal behavioural and environmental exposure. Consequently, the accumulated health impacts for various interventions and population groups are assessed using exposure-response functions. We present our model architecture and methodology, the strength and limitations of ABM for health impact assessment, and our findings on the effects of transport interventions in Amsterdam.
About Tabea Sonnenschein
Tabea Sonnenschein is a PhD Candidate focused on developing spatial agent-based models that simulate the health and social impacts of urban interventions as part of the EU-funded EXPANSE and EXPOSOME-NL projects. She is affiliated to the Institute of Risk Assessment Sciences and the Geoscience Faculty at Utrecht University, as well as the Planetary Health Group of the University Medical Center Utrecht. She is moreover a junior researcher at the Center for Complex System Sciences and an expert for the Urban AI think tank. From 2019-2020, Tabea was a visiting student at the MIT Sustainable Urbanization Lab. In 2020 she earned her Msc Research in Urban and Economic Geography from Utrecht University (summa cum laude).
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Seminar - UPF: a need for clarification to enhance public health policies
2023-05-15 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Ultra-processed foods: a need for clarification to enhance public health policies
Dr Zoé Colombet, University of Liverpool
This hybrid seminar was held in the MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Watch a recording of this webinar.
About this talk
While the literature about ultra-processed foods (UPF) intakes and health impact is exponentially growing, its also appears that the definition and the classifications used may be clarified. Indeed, to be efficient public health policies needs a clear target. This presentation will depict the current works on UPF conducted in collaborations between the University of Liverpool and the MRC Epidemiology Cambridge. This presentation will also show how simulation models can be used to evaluate future health impacts of food policies targeting UPF.
About Zoé Colombet
Zoé Colombet is a post-doc from the Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems at the University of Liverpool. Her background training is in Public Health and Epidemiology. Since then, she has specialized in nutritional epidemiology, with a PhD characterising the nutrition transition in the French West Indies through the identification of dietary patterns, the evolution of dietary consumption, and the analysis of the underlying social determinants.
In her current projects, as a member of Modelling Group in the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Food Policy Research Team, she models the potential impacts of the implementation of policies and related changes in diet and their impact on inequalities.
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Seminar - Diet-gut microbiome interaction for type 2 diabetes
2023-07-06 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Diet-gut microbiome interaction for type 2 diabetes
Dr Ju-Sheng Zheng, Westlake University, China
This hybrid seminar will be held in the MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Register to attend in-person at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mrc-seminar-series-dr-ju-sheng-zheng-westlake-university-tickets-666827518057
Register to join this seminar online at: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMode6vrzwrHtJeUEXJHAAx7l7DsKFJV7kp#/registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
About this talk
Both diet and gut microbiome are important modifiable factors to modulate the risk of type 2 diabetes. There is emerging interest to examine the role of gut microbiota in mediating the diet-diabetes relationship. Here in this talk, I will present our work in several Chinese cohorts showing how dietary and nutritional factors interact with the gut microbiota to modulate risk of diabetes and its risk factors. Apart from the above nutri-microbiome epidemiology approach, I will also present some unpublished results about the diet-gut microbiome interaction on glycaemic traits by using novel n-of-1 clinical trials.
About Dr Zheng
Dr Ju-Sheng Zheng is a principal investigator and assistant professor at Westlake University, China. He got his PhD in nutrition at Zhejiang University and postdoc training at MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge University (2015-2018). The major interest of Ju-Sheng’s group at Westlake is to investigate the interplay among diet, gut microbiome and host genetics for cardiometabolic health by using longitudinal cohort studies and novel clinical trials. Majority of these works have been published in leading journals in the field, such as Gut, Diabetes Care, Nat Commun, Diabetologia and Am J Clin Nutr.
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Seminar - Learning from Covid-19: Why elimination should be the default strategy for future pandemics
2023-07-20 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Learning from Covid-19: Why elimination should be the default strategy for future pandemics
Professor Michael Baker, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
This hybrid seminar will be held in the MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Register to attend in-person at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mrc-seminar-series-professor-michael-baker-university-of-otago-nz-tickets-662295803577
Register to join this seminar online at: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYlce2qqj8iG9UqLDmDX3K-OFr2Kd2aLTdE#/registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
About this talk
The conclusion of this presentation is that ‘elimination’ should be the default response for emerging pandemics of sufficient severity where this goal is considered feasible.
This discussion will draw on the experience of New Zealand (NZ) and other jurisdiction in the Asia-Pacific region which took an elimination, rather than a suppression or mitigation response, to the Covid-19 pandemic. It will discuss the benefits and costs of this strategy versus the alternatives.
The World Health Organisation could implement this approach by assigning a response strategy when it declares a new Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
About Professor Baker
Dr Michael Baker is a public health physician and Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington, NZ. He is a member of the NZ Government’s Covid-19 Technical Advisory Group.
Michael was a leading advocate for the elimination strategy in NZ. He is an active researcher on the pandemic and principal investigator for the Covid-19 Research Collaborative (Co-Search).
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Seminar – Do boutique cohort studies have a role in diabetes epidemiology?
2023-09-12 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Do boutique cohort studies have a role in diabetes epidemiology?
Professor Timothy Davis, University of Western Australia
This hybrid seminar will be held in the MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Register to attend in-person at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mrc-seminar-series-prof-timothy-davis-university-of-western-australia-tickets-699000909537
Register to join this seminar online at: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIqd-mgrDsqHNzc3ecg-i5KuDXigKLrHQjV#/registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
About this talk
In the age of big administrative datasets, including those from intervention trials, there is still an argument for more detailed patient-level data from community-based cohorts. One such cohort is that from the Fremantle Diabetes Study which was started 30 years ago and which has generated a wealth of data relating to diabetes management, complications and cost in a representative urban Australian setting.
About Professor Davis
Timothy Davis is Professor of Medicine and a Consultant Endocrinologist and General Physician in Perth, Western Australia (WA). He graduated in medicine from the University of WA, obtained a DPhil from Oxford University, and completed his physician training in the UK before taking up a postdoctoral position in Oxford University’s Tropical Research Unit in Bangkok. From there he took up his current academic and clinical appointments in Perth. He is an International Advisor to the Royal College of Physicians in London and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
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Seminar - Independent and Joint Effects of Multiple Pollutants and their Interactions with Meteorological Variables on Stroke Hospitalization
2023-09-27 12:30 - 13:30 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Independent and Joint Effects of Multiple Pollutants and their Interactions with Meteorological Variables on Stroke Hospitalization
Lei Li, Huazhong University of Science, China, and visiting PhD student at the MRC Epidemiology Unit
This hybrid seminar will be held in MRC Epidemiology Unit seminar rooms 1 & 2, Level 3, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, and online.
Register to attend in-person at: www.eventbrite.com/e/mrc-seminar-series-ms-lei-li-visiting-phd-student-at-the-mrc-tickets-719114399527
Register to join this seminar online at: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIof-yurjItHdzjDzXS_UOZW5kYz86KuxnV#/registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
About this talk
While studies have emphasized the significant influence of air pollution on stroke development and progression, limited research has explored the joint effects of pollutant mixtures and their interactive effects with meteorological variables. Our study reveals diverse associations between air pollutants and hospital admissions for various stroke subtypes across different seasons. We have systematically examined interactive effects between pollutants and meteorological variables, assessing them from both multiplicative and additive perspectives.
By examining combinations of multiple pollutants, we provide a comprehensive understanding of the overall impact of air pollution on stroke, which can inform policy-making decisions aimed at reducing air pollution levels and preventing stroke.
About Lei Li
Lei Li is a visiting PhD student from Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science. She is now based at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, working closely with Dr Haneen Khreis in the Public Health Modelling team led by Professor James Woodcock.
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