MRC Epidemiology Unit
Programme Leaders – Dr Kirsten Rennie, Dr Linda Oude Griep
This programme is part of the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Nutrition, Diet and Lifestyle research theme.
Programme news
Read news and blogs about this programme’s research.
Objectives
This programme serves the following Unit Objectives as a main focus:
- To investigate the causes of obesity, diabetes and related metabolic disorders
- To develop and evaluate individual level approaches to the prevention of diabetes, obesity and related metabolic disorders in children and adults
It serves the following Unit Objectives as an element of the programme:
- To build capacity for conducting, understanding and using local, national, and international epidemiology and public health research
- To contribute to the translation of research evidence into policy and practice
Research
Evidence from epidemiological studies has shown the importance of improved diet and physical activity in both primary and secondary prevention of many metabolic diseases, as well as in delaying the progression of existing diseases in patients.
This programme is working towards the routine assessment of diet, physical activity and nutrition in clinical settings to support tailored patient care. The ultimate aim is to develop and evaluate scalable, cost-effective and feasible diet and physical activity interventions to prevent progression of disease and improve health outcomes in patient populations.
To achieve this, we are working in close collaboration with the Nutrition Measurement Platform for Dietary Assessment, Anthropometry, Physical Activity and the Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory, together with clinical teams to develop and integrate measurements at scale into existing healthcare systems. This will allow for provision of timely and accessible measures of diet, nutrition and physical activity to clinical staff to support behavioural interventions and improve patient care.
Our specific programme objectives are to:
- develop diet and physical activity interventions appropriate for various patient groups
- tailor intervention in patients to be scalable and feasible in the clinical setting
- evaluate the impact of diet and physical activity interventions on patient health outcomes, quality of life and healthcare costs.
Key studies
- BOLT: Behaviours and Outcomes after Liver Transplant
- CIRCUS: The Effects of Types of Fruits and Vegetables on Vascular Function
- CREATE-C: Cancer Rehabilitation Exercise and Activity via Telehealth COVID 19 Feasibility Study
Programme members
- Linda Oude Griep, Senior Research Associate
- Kirsten Rennie, Senior Research Associate
- Lynsey Spillman, PhD Student