Epidemiology & Public Health
The Epidemiology and Public Health Group examines upstream and downstream determinants of the health of the public i.e. those acting at the level of society and those relating to individuals. Strengths of the group are in cardiovascular disease and diabetes epidemiology, the social determinants of public health including physical health and mental health, administrative data research, rare diseases, the development and translation of public health interventions and increasingly in complex methodologies such as Causal Inference and Agent Based Modelling.
The group has a wide network of international collaborations. Our researchers are members of the management committees of large consortia for the study of cardiovascular disease in large cohorts across Europe (“MORGAM”). The PRIME Study, a prospective study of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in middle-aged men has been active since 1980. An underlying theme which has emerged strongly in the recent years has been research on ageing with our own new large cohort study, the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA) funded by OFMDFM, UKCRC, ESRC and Atlantic Philanthropies; and a Europe wide intervention addressing physical activity and sedentary behaviour in older adults ("SITLESS"). Our researchers also contribute to CPIT III, a multi-centre phase III randomised controlled trial, which will compare smoking cessation rates in late pregnancy and 6 months post-partum between women offered routine NHS stop smoking support and those offered the same NHS support plus additional financial incentives.
The Centre is a member of HEPA Europe, a European network of experts on physical activity for health, which works closely with the European section of the World Health Organisation.
Methodological research in the group has been strengthened through the recent award by the ESRC of the Administrative Data Research Centre for Northern Ireland – a collaboration of both Universities and the Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency.
Professor Amy Jayne McKnight
Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group Co-Lead
Professor Ruth Hunter
Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group Co-Lead
The current academic staff members of the Epidemiology and Public Health Research Group are outlined below:
Academic Staff
Professor AJ McKnight (Research Group Co-Lead)
Professor Ruth Hunter (Research Group Co-Lead)
Postdoctoral Research Fellows:
PhD Students
Ghada Abozaid: Principal Supervisor: Professor AJ McKnight
PhD Title: Towards Accessibility for Rare Diseases RD(s) Therapies in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Rasha Alhazzaa: Principal Supervisor: Professor AJ McKnight
PhD Title: Maximising e-health initiatives to support the diagnosis and tracking of rare diseases
Abdullah Alsarrani: Principal Supervisor: Dr Leandro Garcia
PhD Title: Maximising e-health initiatives to support the diagnosis and tracking of rare diseases
Joanna Clearkin: Principal Supervisor: Prof Dermot O'Reilly
PhD Title: Time discounting, risk preferences, personal health behaviours and screening in older people
Sinead Donnelly: Principal Supervisor: Prof Peter Passmore
PhD Title: Which symptoms matter most to people affected by dementia with Lewy bodies?
Ruth Fergie: Principal Supervisor: Dr Emma Cunningham
PhD Title: Frailty: Why does it matter in Kidney Transplantation?
Sophie Glover: Principal Supervisor: Dr Emma Cunningham
PhD Title: Molecular profiling of urban environmental impacts: understanding the biology underlying environmental stress and identifying biomarkers of resilience to non-communicable diseases
Kelly Gow: Principal Supervisor: Dr Aideen Maguire
PhD Title: Understanding self-harm and suicide in Northern Ireland: a quantitative data linkage approach
Sophie Jones: Principal Supervisor: Dr Leandro Garcia
PhD Title: Simulating physical activity policies for population health
Turlough Maguire: Principal Supervisor: Dr Bernadette McGuinness
PhD Title: A mixed methods project exploring the use and risks associated with overactive bladder (OAB) medication in adult women in Northern Ireland
Claire Potter: Principal Supervisor: Dr Bernadette McGuinness
PhD Title: The ELECTRA Study: Early Life strEss, CogniTive Resilience and Ageing
Carys Räsänen-Young: Principal Supervisor: Professor AJ McKnight
PhD Title: Molecular profiling and social circumstances: promoting health across three countries
Ebru Yilmaz: Principal Supervisor: Dr Declan Bradley
PhD Title: Using Data Science and Systems Engineering to Plan Patient-centred Outpatient Healthcare Services