Radiating news for everyone at the MRC Epidemiology Unit. |
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Wellcome to the latest edition of EpiCentre - for everyone at the MRC Epidemiology Unit to share news from their programme or team. If you have content for any future editions, or any other feedback, please email comms@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk. |
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At the Annual Scientific Meeting for the NIHR School for Public Health Research in Newcastle on 18 May, two SPHR-funded PhD students from the Behavioural Epidemiology programme were awarded prizes.
- Lauren Cross (1st year PhD student) won the best PhD student poster award for her poster titled 'Capturing all voices in school-based mental health & obesity prevention research'
- Olivia Alliott (PhD recently completed) was the winner of the Public Involvement & Engagement Early Career Researcher recognition award in recognition of her innovative public involvement activities with young people living in deprived communities for her APAD-C project.
In other awards:
- Raghib Ali was made a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health.
- Shayan Aryannezhad won the Butterfield Award for research into diabetes
- Chunxiao Li was awarded a Junior Researcher Fellowship
- Esther van Sluijs won the Mentor Award from the International society of behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) young adults special interest group.
- Solomon Sowah was made a College Research Associate, both at Wolfson College, Cambridge.
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On Sunday 19 March 12 Unit members woke up early to run the 1.6-mile course of the Chariots of Fire relay, representing 2 teams and raising £273 for the Arthur Rank Hospice. MRC Epi 2 (Andrea Smith, Kelly Kokka, Lena Kaisinger, Lauren Cross, Michelle Chester, and Yaniana Chavez-Ugalde) just beat MRC Epi 1 (Fumiaki Imamura, Jody Hoenink, Kerry Jones, Luiza Ricardo, Tulio, and Yuru Huang) by 4 minutes.
MRC Epi 2 also claimed first place for an all female team! Due the surprise of this win, they missed the official ceremony so they had a small one in the unit meetings rooms a few weeks later. The trophy is on display in the reception area.
Congratulations to all our Chariots of Fire runners and many thanks to all of you for your contributions.
Perhaps spurred on by this Fumiaki Imamura won the 'Norfolk 100km' race, covering 101km in just 10 hours, 2 minutes and 46 seconds!
Out on the river, Olivia Alliott was a member of the University of Cambridge crew that won this year's Women's Lightweight Boat Race. |
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We've had a bumper crop of successful PhD in the last few months.
Olivia Alliott passed her PhD viva in January 2023. Her PhD was funded through the School for Public Health Research and is titled 'The role of socioeconomic position in adolescent physical activity'.
Matt Keeble passed his PhD viva in February 2023. His PhD 'Improving our understanding of the use of online food delivery services to access food prepared out-of-home', was funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research.
Also in February Jakub Sobiecki successfully defended his MRC-funded PhD on 'The application of biomarker-based assessment of dietary patterns to nutritional epidemiology: observational and interventional investigations with a focus on the Mediterranean diet and type 2 diabetes'.
In March Rachel Simpson passed her PhD viva. Rachel’s ESRC-funded PhD is titled 'Understanding physical activity in parents'.
Christina Xiao also passed her PhD viva in March. Christina’s PhD is titled 'Evaluating and understanding how interventions work to encourage shifts towards active travel' and was funded by the Cambridge International Trust scholarship.
In April Campbell Foubister passed his PhD viva, on 'The role of the social environment in adolescent adiposity and physical activity', which was funded by NIHR School for Public Health Research.
Also in April Alice Williamson passed her PhD viva. The Wellcome-funded PhD was on 'Genetic and molecular characterisation of metabolic subphenotypes and their contribution to type 2 diabetes aetiology'.
Julia Carrasco Zanini Sanchez who passed her PhD viva in May. Her Wellcome-funded PhD was on 'Proteomic Signatures of Type 2 Diabetes and Related Metabolic Traits'.
In June Chunxiao Li passed her viva, on 'Meat consumption and type 2 diabetes: investigating heterogeneity and potential causal mechanisms' which was funded by the Jardine Cambridge Scholarship.
In July Lambed Tatah passed his PhD viva. His MRC-funded PhD was titled 'Modelling the health impacts of urban transport in Africa'.
Congratulations all! |
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Several Unit members have moved to new roles, including:
- Roxanne Armstrong-Moore, Research Associate, Population Health Interventions
- Anila Farooq, Research Assistant, Dietary Assessment and Nutrition Measurement Platform
- Colin Farr, Research Site Manager for Ely and Wisbech, Field Epidemiology
- Lewis Griffiths, Technical Manager, Physical Activity Measurement Platform
- Rebecca Jones, Research associate, Prevention in High risk Groups
- Vasileios Kaimakis, Senior Laboratories Manager, Laboratory
- Matthew Keeble, Research Associate, Population health Interventions
- Stephen Knighton, Sample Facilities Manager, Laboratory
- Chungxiao Li, Research Associate with the Aetiology & Mechanisms
Congratulations and good luck in your new roles! |
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New Starters - welcome to:
- Zeke Adisa, Project Manager for Fenland 3, Study coordination
- Juan Pablo Alvaraz Ayala, Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Matthew Blainey, Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Vicky Braithwait, clinical Research Associate in Public Health, Aetiology & Mechamisms
- Alexandra Bretones Diaz, Visiting Scientist, Public Health Modelling
- Vickie Brooks, Departmental Safety Officer
- Kristina Cesnakova, Clinical Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Yiheng Chen, visiting PhD student, Aetiology & Mechanisms
- Borglarka Csomos, Database Specialist, Data Management
- Beatriz Da Silva Campos, Research Assistant, Laboratory
- Pricilla de Almeida Moreira, Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Rofaida Desoki. Clinical Research Associate and PhD Student, Aetiology and Mechanisms
- Monica Espirito Santo, Reception & Facilities Supervisor, Finance & Business
- Kevin Fleming, Senior Programmer, Data Management
- Dominic Ford, Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Valerie Friesen, Research Associate, Population Health Interventions
- Louie Garner, Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Mercedes Gil Lespinard, Visiting Scientist, Nutritional Epidemiology
- Max Hill, Research Technician, Laboratory
- Kimihiro Hino, Visiting Scientist, Public health Modelling
- Sharon Isigi, Clinical Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Eric Johansson, Visiting Scientist, Early Life Aetiology & Mechanisms
- Stefan Johansson, Visiting Scientist, Early Life Aetiology & Mechanisms
- Cryasanthi Kouri, Visiting PhD student, Easly Life Aetiology & Mechanisms
- Mohammed Lahouel Guettala, System Support Technician, IT
- Jamie Milne, Programmer & Data Engineer, Data Management
- Joseph Nartey, Clinical Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Aiman Nor Hashimi, Clinical Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Shamya Reny, Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Ismail Saadi, Research associate, Public Health Modelling
- Neha Shah, Database Engineer, Data Management
- Rachael Sibson, Research Study Assistant, Field Epidemiology
- Daniel Stubbs, Visiting Scientist, Aetiology & Mechanisms
- Jiameng Sun, Software Developer, Nutrition Measurement Platform
- Yinhua Tao, Research Associate, Behavioural Epidemiology
- Ella Wesdorp, Research Laboratory technician, Biorepository
- Dan Wright, Senior Research Associate, Early Life Aetiology & Mechanisms
- Qin Zhang, research Associate, Public Health Modelling
- Olesia Zubrytska, Temporary HR coordinator, Finance & Business
Leavers - farewell to:
- Campbell Foubister, PhD Student, Behavioural Epidemiology
- Dan Griffiths, Research assistant, Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory
- Daniel Ibsen, Research Fellow, Nutritional Epidemiology
- Bochu Liu, Research Associate, Population Health Interventions
- Angela Madden, Visiting Scientist, Evaluation of Diet and Physical Activity Interventions in Patient Populations
- Helen Schuilenberg, Database Specialist, Data Management
- Jakub Sobiecki, PhD Student, Nutritional Epidemiology
- Stasa Stankovic, PhD Student, Early Life Aetiology & Mechanisms
- Lambed Tatah, PhD Student, Public Health Modelling
- Katrien Wijndaele, Senior Investigator Scientist, Physical Activity Epidemiology
- Alice Williamson, PhD Student, Aetiology & Mechanisms
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The 2023 Cambridge Festival ran from 17 March - 2 April, with a wide range of activities and events for all ages. Unit researchers participated in several events, including two talks and an interactive event for families. Thanks to all our volunteers, and everyone who joined our activities!
Can we tell your health fortune? Can you outrun it?
How much exercise do 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?
Nine Unit volunteers delivered three activities that explored these questions at our stand at the family drop-in event at Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology on 18 March, with about 100 families participating in our activities over the course of the day.
The crisis in mental health in young women and girls: does our education system make it worse?
Unit PhD student Lauren Cross participated in a Cambridge Festival hybrid panel discussion on 27 March with Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Professor Tamsin Ford, chaired by Murray Edwards College President Dorothy Byrne. The discussion examined why girls and young women are suffering levels of stress and anxiety so far in excess of those their mothers and grandmothers experienced, and what part stress at school and university plays in this.
Growing up in a changing environment – What really influences what young people eat?
At this Festival talk on 29 March Unit researchers Eleanor Winpenny, Tiago Canelas and Struan Tait discussed 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.
They shared their research from the UK and abroad, focusing on young people’s diets and the influence of changing home, institutional and built environments, and introduced the DEBEAT study. The DEBEAT team are currently recruiting 17-18 year-olds for a pilot study, and the full study will examine why adolescents’ diets change so much between leaving school and starting work or higher education, and how these changes relate to their long-term health.
We will be participating in the 2024 Cambridge Festival event at Cambridge Academy of Science and Technology on 18 March, keep an eye out for announcements and chances to take part! |
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DEBEAT study ready for wave 1
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The Diet and Eating Behaviours Across Early Adulthood Transitions (DEBEAT) study is investigating changes in diet and the changing determinants of diet across the transition from school/college, to further education or employment. The pilot study was successfully completed in March-May this year, recruiting 106 participants aged 17/18, just over the target of 100 participants.
Participants completed three Intake24 dietary recalls, and four short questionnaires about dietary determinants. 76% of those who completed the baseline questionnaire went through to complete the full study. We learned a lot from the pilot including about recruiting through schools (not so easy) and Instagram (easy!), the process of setting up and implementing a study with many small components in Redcap (fiddly), and participant preferences for reminders and incentives.
A huge thanks to all of the study team, Intake24 team and functional teams for making this happen, in particular Emma Lachassseigne, Struan Tait, Anna Melachrou and Susie Boatman!
The team are now moving quickly towards the full study with Wave 1 planned for September this year. The aim will be to recruit a sample of 1,500 participants, all in Y13 of school from across England. These will then be followed up one year later, after they have left school, to see how their diet and dietary determinants have changed.
If you have any friends or relatives who will be going into Y13 in September, do let them know about the study, the team would very much appreciate their participation!
For further details, please see our website or social media pages https://linktr.ee/debeat.study |
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Departmental Research Day - 23 June 2023
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We hope that those of you who joined our Departmental Research Day in person at Churchill College or online enjoyed it.
Copies of the Research Day presentations are available on our Intranet where you'll also find a link to recordings of the sessions, and to Carrie Goucher’s mini e-course on getting out of meeting gridlock.
Save the dates!
Online Unit-wide meeting
Departmental Research Day
- Friday 15 December 2023
- Churchill College, Cambridge
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MRC Epidemiology Unit Seminars
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Unit seminars are held several times a year. Seminars include both Unit and external speakers, and are held as either online or hybrid events. All Unit members are invited to join. Upcoming seminars are advertised on our events page, and you can watch recordings of previous seminars on our past seminars page.
Yanaina Chavez-Ugalde (Behavioural Epidemiology) and Jody Hoenink (Population Health Interventions) are the current coordinators for the Unit seminar series, and if you have a speaker or seminar recommendation please contact them at seminars@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk.
The next MRC Epidemiology Unit seminar will be a hybrid event.
- Learning from Covid-19: Why elimination should be the default strategy for future pandemics
- Speaker: Professor Michael Baker, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand
- When: Thursday 20 July, 11 am - 12am (UK)
- Where: IMS Level 3 Meeting rooms 1&2 and online
- Register: www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/event/seminar-learning-from-covid-19/
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About EpiCentre
EpiCentre is the internal newsletter for staff, students and visiting workers at the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge.
It is for everyone to share their news, so if you have content for future editions, please email comms@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk
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