Major Research Themes

1. Aetiology, prevention, treatment and experience of disease (genetic and lifecourse epidemiology and multi-disciplinary health services research in cancer, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, addiction, mental disorders and suicide).

The Clifton Suspension Bridge: research
resulted in a barrier above the handrail

2. Genetic and molecular epidemiology within the MRC CaiTE centre. This programme aims to examine ways in which genotypes can aid understanding of the relationships between life-course exposures and adult diseases, to develop methods for dissemination and introduction into practice of genetic epidemiology findings, and to use the principles of Mendelian randomisation to examine the role of environmental exposures for obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, CHD and common cancers.

Gregor Mendel, who
discovered the laws of
genetic inheritance

3. Methodological development and implementation of phase III randomised controlled trials (RCTs): statistical analysis, economic evaluation, recruitment, participant/recruiter perspectives and schools-based interventions. Now formally under the umbrella of the NCRI-accredited Bristol Randomised Trials Collaboration (Departments of Community-Based Medicine and Social Medicine, and Bristol Oncology Centre) and the MRC ConDuCT (COllaboration and iNnovation in DifficUlt and complex randomised Controlled Trials) methodology hub.

Inequalities in Health:
The Black Report and
The Health Divide

4. Lifecourse epidemiology – the investigation of exposures acting at different stages of the life course that may contribute to risk of disease in adulthood, either from the simple accumulation of effects over time, or through exposures acting at critical time periods, or through interactions between exposures occurring at different stages of lifecourse. These studies are based in a wide range of historical and contemporary cohort studies.

An ALSPAC participant being scanned

5. Developing and evaluating complex Public Health (population) interventions, particualrly those targeted at health risk behaviours in school children and young adults. This programme is part of the UK CRC funded DECIPHer (Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement) Centre.

6. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis, including sources of bias in systematic reviews and RCTs, methods for systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies and the conduct of high quality reviews of RCTs and other types of study.

7. Development of statistical methodology, in particular instrumental variables, missing data, and meta-analysis.