Research Co-ordinator and Site Manager EPIC Norfolk

Study Coordination and Field Epidemiology

Has now left the Unit

Work and interests

Nichola was the Research Co-ordinator and Site Manager managing the EPIC-Norfolk fourth health check activities in Norfolk.

Committees

• Member of the EPIC-Norfolk senior management research steering committee.
• Co-ordinator and Chair of the EPIC-Norfolk Participant Advisory Panel (EPAP) who meet regularly to contribute to research planning and activities.

Background and experience

Nichola Dalzell began her career as an Assistant Scientific Officer at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist in London before moving into the NHS to manage the bone densitometry unit at St George’s Hospital, Tooting. It was there that her interest in research began when acting as Research Study Site Co-ordinator for a number of bone-related pharmaceutical clinical research trials.

She moved into Epidemiology in 1994 when she joined the University of Cambridge, firstly with the Bone Research Group and subsequently the EPIC-Norfolk group. During this time Nichola has held a number of research co-ordination and management positions.

• Research Co-ordinator for the European Prospective Osteoporosis Study (EPOS). Activities included the co-ordination of a mobile bone densitometry (DEXA) unit measuring study participants throughout Norfolk.
• Management of the Norfolk arm of the Advanced Detection of bOne Quality (ADOQ) study. A European collaboration collecting normative data for a novel 3D pQCT scanner measuring bone micro-architecture.
• Research Co-ordinator involved in the initial set-up of a pharmaceutical clinical research trial looking at bone micro-architecture in post menopausal women.
• Local Research Co-ordinator for the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk) third health check activities in Norfolk.
• Research Co-ordinator and Site Manager (on secondment to the MRC Epidemiology Unit) Managing the EPIC-Norfolk fourth health check activities in Norfolk.

Research Interests

• Osteoporosis
• Healthy Ageing
• Obesity

Publications

• MRC Epidemiology Unit publications on the Publications Database

Selected publications

• Keevil VL, Hayat S, Dalzell N, Moore S, Bhaniani A, Luben, R et al.  The physical capability of community-based men and women from a British cohort: the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk study. BMC Geriatr (2013). 13(1), 93. doi:10.1186/1471-2318-13-93
• Sherwin JC, Khawaja AP, Broadway D, Luben R, Hayat S, Dalzell N et al. Uncorrected refractive error in older British adults: The EPIC-Norfolk eye study. British Journal of Ophthalmology (2012) 96(7), 991-996.
• Dalzell N, Kaptoge S, Morris N, Berthier A, Koller B et al. Bone micro-architecture and determinants of strength in the radius and tibia: age-related changes in a population-based study of normal adults measured with high-resolution pQCT. Osteoporos Int (2009) 20(10), 1683-1694. doi:10.1007/s00198-008-0833-6
• Kaptoge S, Dalzell N, Morris N, Koller B, Ruegsegger P et al. Effects of ageing on cortical and trabecular bone in radius and tibia: A high-resolution PQCT study. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (2007) Vol. 22 (pp. 1136)
• Dalzell N, Kaptoge S, Koller B, Ruegsegger P, Berthier A et al. High resolution pQCT of the radius and Tibia. Osteoporosis Intl (2006) Vol. 17 (pp. S281).
• Kaptoge S, Dalzell N, Jakes RW, Wareham NJ, Khaw KT et al. (2004). Is diversity more important than quantity of physical activity in maintaining the fracture resistance of the proximal femur? Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (2004) Vol. 19 (pp. S424).
• Kaptoge S, Dalzell N, Jakes RW, Wareham N, Day NE et al. Hip section modulus, a measure of bending resistance, is more strongly related to reported physical activity than BMD. Osteoporos Int (2003) 14(11), 941-949. doi:10.1007/s00198-003-1484-2
• Kaptoge S, Dalzell N, Jakes R, Wareham N, Khaw K et al. (2003). Effects of physical activity and lifestyle on evolution of hip bending resistance in men and women over 65: The population-based EPIC-Norfolk cohort study. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (2003) Vol. 18 (pp. S256).
• Kapotage S, Welch AA, Dalzell N, McTaggert A, Mulligan AM, (2001). The effects of diet on hip bone loss: A prospective study. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (2001)  16(6), 1186.
• Tobias JH, Dalzell N, Pazianas M, & Chambers TJ. Cyclical etidronate prevents spinal bone loss in early post-menopausal women. Br J Rheumatol (1997) 36(5), 612-613. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9189074

Presentations

Member of public engagement team who deliver research findings via presentations and public events to participants, the general public and professional bodies.

Poster presentations at professional conferences.

An invited speaker for the Foundations in Clinical Research MSc module at the University of East Anglia.