MRC Epidemiology Unit

Seminar - Assessing the impacts of the introduction of South Africa’s tax on sugar-sweetened beverages
2020-01-23 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Assessing the impacts of the introduction of South Africa’s tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Nicholas Stacey, Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science & SAMRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand.

MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Abstract
In response to an increasingly severe obesity and diet-related disease burden, on April 1 2018 South Africa implemented a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages titled the Health Promotion Levy (HPL). Like the UK’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), this tax is levied according to the sugar content of beverages. Unlike the UK’s SDIL, the HPL does not use discrete rate tiers and is rather levied at a constant rate per gram of sugar (over an initial threshold). This presentation will highlight findings from an ongoing evaluation of the HPL emphasizing heterogeneity in effects by products’ sugar content and heterogeneity in household responses by socio-economic status.
About Nicholas Stacey
Nicholas Stacey is a health economist and researcher at the SAMRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science at the School of Public Health of the University of the Witwatersrand and is a PhD student at the Department of Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research interests and published work are on excise taxes and the use of public policy to influence behavioural determinants of health and health inequalities in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries.
Twitter: @nick__stacey
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Transforming Healthcare: Prevention of type 2 Diabetes - Professor Nick Wareham
2020-01-29 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Lee Hall, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Barton Road, Cambridge, CB3 9BB, Wolfson College, Cambridge, CB3 9BB
Type 2 diabetes affects almost 500 million people around the world. MRC Epidemiology Unit Director Professor Nick Wareham talks about how efforts to prevent it need to reflect this.

About this Event

Type 2 diabetes is a major cause of ill health and mortality. The latest estimate for 2019 is that 463 million people have diabetes and that by 2045 this number will have risen to 700 million. As 80% of people with diabetes live in low and middle income countries and the disorder principally affects people in their economically active years, this global epidemic needs to be seen not only as a clinical and public health problem, but rather as a societal challenge that impacts on sustainable development. The solutions to this growing public health crisis need to reflect this broader societal perspective.
FREE registration at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transforming-health-care-through-prevention-prevention-of-type-2-diabetes-tickets-88484538637

Transforming Health Care Through Prevention - Primary Care at the Forefront
2020-02-19 18:00 - 19:15 UTC | Lee Hall, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Barton Road, Cambridge, CB3 9BB, Wolfson College, Cambridge, CB3 9BB
There is a long tradition of disease prevention in primary care” but “over-stretched primary care teams are struggling to meet the needs of patients with existing disease.
In this lecture Professor Simon Griffin, the Unit’s Programme Leader for Prevention of Diabetes and Related Metabolic Disorders in High Risk Groups, will share some thoughts on how we might square the circle and efficiently deliver effective prevention in primary care.
FREE registration at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transforming-health-care-through-prevention-primary-care-at-the-forefront-tickets-90622756103
This event is part of the Wolfson Explores Transformation lecture series.

Seminar – Applications of geospatial data and methods in environmental epidemiology
2020-02-20 12:00 - 13:00 UTC | MRC Epidemiology meeting rooms 1&2, Level 3 IMS, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0SL, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Applications of geospatial data and methods in environmental epidemiology.
S.M. Labib, Department of Geography, School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED), University of Manchester.

MRC Epidemiology Unit meeting rooms 1 and 2, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Download slides of S.M. Labib‘s presentation.
Abstract
Geospatial data and methods are widely integrated with environmental epidemiology and public health research. This talk explores the applications of spatial data and methods in research on environmental epidemiology in urban areas. It provides case studies on the availability and applications of spatial data (e.g., satellite and drone images) and modelling approaches (e.g., coupling systems, machine learning) used to identify and understand environmental patterns and processes. Then, it explores how spatial dimensions (e.g., data-resolution, scale) influence the relationships between environment and health outcomes and discusses emerging approaches used to apply spatial data and methods when focusing on urban greenspace and health.
About S.M. Labib
S.M. Labib is a final year PhD student at the University of Manchester (UoM). Labib’s multidisciplinary academic background encompasses quantitative geography, urban planning, and environmental sciences. He completed MSc in Geographical Information Science from the UoM. Before that, he obtained a BSc in Urban and Regional Planning from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, with a specialisation in sustainable urban transportation and emission modelling. His PhD research focused on environmental health issues, Labib is developing new approaches to model green space exposure using innovative geospatial methods and big-spatial data.
Website: www.smlabib.com
Twitter: @smlabib
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The NCD emergency, intergenerational inequality, and the urgent need for systems change
2020-03-06 18:00 - 19:15 UTC | Lee Hall, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Barton Road, Cambridge, CB3 9BB, Wolfson College, Cambridge, CB3 9BB
The only way is upstream: the NCD emergency, intergenerational inequality and the urgent need for system change.
A free public lecture by Professor Martin White, Programme Leader for Population Health Interventions at the MRC Epidemiology Unit.
FREE registration at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/transforming-health-care-through-prevention-the-ncd-emergency-tickets-90624019883
This event is part of the Wolfson Explores Transformation lecture series.

Let food be thy medicine - Talk by Professor Nita Forouhi
2020-03-09 19:30 - 21:00 UTC | Wolfson Hall, Churchill College, Storey's Way, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0DS, United Kingdom
Type 2 diabetes is one of the biggest global public health challenges, also placing a massive burden in the U.K. on people with diabetes, their families and the wider society. Urgent solutions are needed to help individuals with this condition as well as to prevent those at risk from developing it in the future. Dietary factors can play a pivotal role in the prevention, management and even the possible reversal of type 2 diabetes, but there is also a lot of confusion and noise out there, with conflicting dietary advice.
In this Cambridge Society for the Application of Research (CSAR) lecture Professor Nita Forouhi, Programme Leader for Nutritional Epidemiology programme at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, aims to cut through this confusion to provide clarity.
CSAR lectures are open to members only, but CSAR welcome new members and would encourage you join CSAR online in advance of the event you wish to attend.
More information about this talk.

Seminar - Healthy Cities from the Bottom Up: A Human-centred Approach to Urban and Transport Planning
2020-03-18 12:30 - 13:30 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Healthy Cities from the Bottom Up: A Human-centred Approach to Urban and Transport Planning
Dr Andy Hong, Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford.
Watch a recording of this online seminar on Zoom.
Download the slides from this seminar as a PDF.
Abstract
The rise of chronic diseases coupled with rapid urbanisation presents both challenges and opportunities for cities around the world. However, much of the contemporary urban planning paradigm still rely on top-down approaches to urban development focused on automobility. A more integrated approach to urban and transport planning that supports human-scale urban development is needed. This requires collecting and analysing vast amounts of big data while integrating more nuanced and contextualised information about human behaviours and risk factors.
In this talk, I will discuss some of the key health challenges linked to urban and transport planning, and share lessons and experiences from my research to support and guide local decisions and investments to make healthy cities from the bottom up.
About Dr Hong
Andy Hong is a Lead Urban Health Scientist at The George Institute for Global Health (UK), University of Oxford. Andy is also Co-founder of the Healthy Cities Network, a global nexus of innovators dedicated to sharing cutting-edge information on urban health. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California and his graduate and undergraduate studies at the University of Washington. His research interests lie at the nexus of urban planning, transport, and public health. He has collaborated actively with international experts, particularly for the development of evidence-based policy solutions to a wide range of global health challenges, from promoting physical activity to reducing the environmental burden of disease in marginalised communities. Andy previously held positions at the University of British Columbia, the Korea Transport Institute, and Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates.
Website
Twitter: @DrAndyHong
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Seminar - Introducing the Propensity to Cycle Tool and explaining the new health impact calculation methods
2020-04-01 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Introducing the Propensity to Cycle Tool and explaining the new health impact calculation methods.
Dr Anna Goodman, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Dr Rachel Aldred, University of Westminster, London.

Watch the seminar by Dr Aldred and Dr Goodman on our Youtube channel.
About the Propensity to Cycle Tool
The Propensity to Cycle Tool (PCT) is an open source transport planning system that was designed to assist transport planners and policy makers to prioritise investments and interventions to promote cycling. The PCT answers the question: ‘where is cycling currently common and where does cycling have the greatest potential to grow?’.
The PCT can be used at different scales, either as a strategic planning tool or on a smaller scale, for example to use the level of commuter cycling along a particular road to estimate future mode share for cycling on that corridor under different scenarios.

Download the PCT Essentials document

About Dr Goodman
Anna has an epidemiology background and specialises in the field of sustainable transport, with a particular focus on promoting walking and cycling. One of her key research interests is the potential to use primary, secondary or register-based data to evaluate population-level transport interventions, including through natural experimental designs. She also collaborates with CEDAR on various projects in modelling the health and environmental impacts of different transport scenarios.
Profile on the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine website.
About Dr Aldred
Rachel is Director of the Active Travel Academy and Reader in Transport at the University of Westminster. Rachel has ten years’ experience of researching active travel, and has made contributions to the field in areas including conceptualising and calculating active travel potential, developing methods for evaluation research, near miss studies, applying epidemiological methods to active travel injury risk, and exploring cultures of active travel, including processes of stigmatisation and marginalisation. She has published more than 25 peer-reviewed papers in these areas, and was in 2016 awarded the ESRC Prize for Outstanding Impact in Public Policy.

Rachel Aldred personal website

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Seminar - How does it work? Using process tracing methods to study policy processes
2020-04-08 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
How does it work? Using process tracing methods to study policy processes.
Professor Derek Beach, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark.

Watch a recording of this seminar.
Download the slides from Professor Beach`s presentation ad a PDF.
Abstract
In recent years the process tracing method has become increasingly popular in case studies as well as in political science and political economy methodological debates. It is a method for studying causal mechanisms linking causes with outcomes. This enables the researcher to make strong inferences about how a cause (or set of causes) contributes to producing an outcome. Professor Beach will provide an introduction to using this method and explain why it is fast becoming a popular tool to study complex phenomenon such as policy processes.
About Professor Beach
Derek Beach is a professor of Political Science at Aarhus University in Denmark, where he teaches international relations, European integration and case study methodology.
He has authored articles, chapters, and books on research methodology, international negotiations and European integration, and co-authored the books Process-tracing Methods: Foundations and Guidelines (2013) and Causal Case Study Methods (2016).
He has taught qualitative case study methods at ECPR and IPSA summer and winter schools, held numerous workshops and seminars on qualitative methods throughout the world, and is the academic co-convenor of the ECPR Methods Schools.
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Seminar - Movement behaviours and parenting in the first two years of life
2020-04-16 12:30 - 13:30 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to a CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Movement behaviours and parenting in the first two years of life.
Dr Alessandra Prioreschi, Associate Director of the SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand.
Watch a recording of this seminar.
Download the slides from Dr Prioreschi`s seminar as a PDF.
Abstract
Many children lack the stimulation needed to support healthy growth and development. Recent international movement guidelines for physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for the early years (0-5 years) prescribe that in the first two years of life, infants should be provided with as much stimulation and opportunity to be active as possible, in order to improve motor and cognitive development and growth.
Interactive play (cognitively stimulating play with a caregiver, resulting in increased infant movement, attachment, relationship building, and learning) can improve childhood growth and developmental through biological pathways linked to infant movement, and through nurturing care.
From my formative work, I have explored and developed methodology for objectively measuring infant movement using 24-hour accelerometry. Assessment of caregiver-infant interactions using headcams (small cameras which are worn on headbands on both infants and caregivers for a period of time while interacting, which provide a first person view of the interaction from both infant and caregiver perspective) provide naturalistic and detailed measures of parenting styles.
I aim to ultimately combine these two novel measures of infant activity and caregiver-infant interaction to define optimal levels of interactive play. However, the feasibility of the headcam tool in Soweto, South Africa has not yet been explored.
About Dr Prioreschi
Allessandra is an Associate Director of the SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU).
She obtained her PhD in Exercise Physiology in 2014, in the School of Physiology at the University of the Witwatersrand. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at DPHRU, during which time she developed an interest in maternal and child health, specifically the effect of movement behaviours (physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep) on infant growth, development and well being.
Alessandra has developed methodology for measuring infant movement; and was instrumental in the design, development and feasibility testing of an infant wearable band for the objective measurement of infant movement using accelerometry. Alessandra is particularly interested in how the care giving environment can influence infant movement and thus early childhood development.
Twitter: @A_Prioreschi
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Seminar - The Challenges of Meta-analysing Metabolomics Data; Experiences from the Consortium Of METabolomics Studies (COMETS)
2020-04-23 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
The Challenges of Meta-analysing Metabolomics Data; Experiences from the Consortium Of METabolomics Studies (COMETS).
Dr Rachel Kelly, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital & Harvard Medical School, USA.

Watch a recording of this seminar.
Download the slides from Dr Kelly`s seminar as a PDF.
Abstract
Genetics teaches us that for highly-dimensional omic technologies sample size is key, and that necessary sample sizes can best be archived via meta-analyses. This poses a challenge for metabolomics due to its relative nature of measurement, the lack of a standardized metabolite nomenclature and differences in metabolome coverage between platforms. The Consortium Of METabolomics Studies (COMETS); has developed a novel workflow to deal with these issues for the first time. I will discuss our experiences with COMETS and how we have leveraged these developments to conduct largest and most comprehensive metabolomics of BMI study to date, including >100,000 adults from 43 cohorts worldwide.
About Dr Kelly
Rachel Kelly is an Instructor of Medicine and Associate Epidemiologist in the Channing Division of Network Medicine (CDNM) at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She has been working in the field of metabolomic epidemiology for nearly ten years, and her research focuses on chronic complex diseases, particularly respiratory and neurodevelopmental disorders, and on novel methods for the integration of metabolomics data with other omic data types. She completed her PhD at Imperial College London, and undertook postdoctoral fellowships at the Harvard School of Public Health and at the CDNM before transitioning to faculty at the CDNM in 2017.
ResearchGate profile
Twitter: @RachelSKelly4
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Seminar - Systems approaches to obesity: The lived experience of young people
2020-05-06 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Systems approaches to obesity: The lived experience of young people.
Dr Wendy Wills, Professor of Food and Public Health, Director of the Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care.
Watch a recording of this seminar.
Download the slides from Dr Wills seminar as a PDF.
Abstract
Doing nothing about obesity is not a realistic option but given the multiple and interlinked causes of excess weight, simplistic solutions are not effective at population level. Local authorities are adopting systems approaches to address obesity and one important element of such an approach is to understand public perceptions about ‘systems’ within a locality, i.e. the factors experienced as influencing weight.
In this seminar I will discuss the rationale for a consultation that enabled young people to talk about growing up in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The consultation, part of the local authority agenda to plan healthy weight initiatives, considered the local factors linked with excess weight, from young people’s perspectives. Affordability, crime and anti-social behaviour, transport and places to go and eat were identified by young people as issues that influence obesity in their local area. These findings will inform the direction of preventative weight services.
About Professor Wills
Wendy is a sociologist and a registered nutritionist specialising in public health. Her research focuses on the social and socio-economic determinants of obesity, food practices and malnutrition and she has a particular interest in inequalities and how they are produced and experienced by different population groups. She leads the Prevention and Early Detection in Health and Social Care research theme for the NIHR ARC East of England and is Director of CRIPACC, a multi-disciplinary research centre at the University of Hertfordshire.
University of Hertfordshire profile
Twitter: @Wendy_J_Wills
LinkedIn profile
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Seminar - Movement behaviours and cognitive development in early childhood: Evidence, insights and interventions from South Africa
2020-05-13 11:30 - 12:30 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Movement behaviours and cognitive development in early childhood: Evidence, insights and interventions from South Africa.
Dr Catherine Draper, MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand.

Watch a recording of this seminar.
Download the slides from Dr Draper’s seminar as a PDF.
Abstract
This presentation will cover research on movement behaviours in young children from South Africa – a country with a double burden of over- and under-nutrition. While a focus of this research has been the development of strategies to prevent early childhood obesity, a purely obesity focus is not appropriate in the South African context. There has therefore been a need to position this work within a broader early childhood developmental framework that takes into account other constraints and priorities within low-income South African settings. This has led to an increased focus on understanding how movement behaviours relate to cognitive development in early childhood, including how to develop intervention strategies that take this into account.
About Dr Draper
Catherine has a background in Psychology and Public Health. Her research interests include the development and evaluation of community-based physical activity interventions for young children. Catherine is particularly interested in the preschool age group, and her current research is movement behaviours and cognitive development in early childhood.
Catherine led the development of the South African 24-hour movement guidelines for the birth to 5 years, and was a member of the WHO Guideline Development Group for guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep in children under 5. She is currently the President of the International Society of Physical Activity and Health, and is a Fellow of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
Twitter: @DrCathD
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Severo Ochoa Webinars - The Impacts of Active Transport: a Multi-Disciplinary Research and Practice Field - Session 1
2020-06-03 08:00 - 11:30 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
Aims of the seminars

Bring together the international research and practitioner community in transport impact assessment
Learn about readily available tools to assess transport impacts or components of it (e.g. transport demand models for active travel)
Learn about state-of-the-art methods for the evaluation of transport impacts
Learn from practitioners and decision-makers what evidence and tools are useful to support investment in active travel
Establish an international transport impact assessment community

First Session
3 June 2020, 08.00-11.30h BST;
(Other time zones: 09.00 – 12.30h CEST (Central European Summer time), 17.00 – 20.30h AEST; 19:00 – 20.30h NZST)
First session agenda

Alex Macmillan, University of Otago | Mixed methods for achieving change in the community and in policy: Te Ara Mua Future Streets
Dhirendra Singh, RMIT University | Panacea or pain: Should my next transport system model be agent-based?
Joe Stordy, Transport for London | Measuring London’s progress towards Vision Zero
Emily Coldbeck, Infrastructure Victoria | Actively deciding and prioritizing: the challenges of planning and delivering active transport in Victoria
Bert van Wee, Delft University of Technology | How to assess the health impacts of active transport?
Audrey de Nazelle, Imperial College | Reducing air pollution: making the case for a systems approach
María José Rojo, Polis Network | Post-lockdown mobility planning. Reallocating space to promote active travel
Alexandre Santacreu, ITF/RPA | Preventing road deaths through mode shift: lessons from the ITF Safer City Streets network and micro mobility safety research
James Woodcock, University of Cambridge | Transport and health modelling next steps?

First session chairs

Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, ISGlobal
Belen Zapata-Diomedi, RMIT University

Register for the first session
The webinar session will take place via Zoom. Prior registration is required.
Please register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0vwo1r1pSu21i1rhgzeVPg
Do you want to ask the speakers a question? Submit it here!

Severo Ochoa Webinars - The Impacts of Active Transport: a Multi-Disciplinary Research and Practice Field - Session 2
2020-06-03 16:00 - 19:30 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
Aims of the seminars

Bring together the international research and practitioner community in transport impact assessment
Learn about readily available tools to assess transport impacts or components of it (e.g. transport demand models for active travel)
Learn about state-of-the-art methods for the evaluation of transport impacts
Learn from practitioners and decision-makers what evidence and tools are useful to support investment in active travel
Establish an international transport impact assessment community

Second Session
3 June 2020, 16.00-19.30h BST;
(Other time zones: 17.00 – 20.30h CEST (Central European Summer time), 17.00 – 20.30h AEST; 19:00 – 20.30h NZST)
Second session agenda

Rolf Moeckel, Technical University of Munich | Modeling Travel Behavior and Health Impacts
Susan Handy, University of California, Davis | Evaluating the benefits of bicycle and pedestrian projects in California.
Kelly Clifton, Portland State University | Representing Pedestrians in Travel Demand Models: Opportunities & Challenges
Neil Maizlish, Centre for Climate Change and Health | Advances in ITHIM Practice and Research, United States
Thomas Götschi, University of Oregon | HEAT Global: Adapting WHO’s Health Economic Assessment Tool for walking and cycling (HEAT) for a global audience
Rachel Aldred, University of Westminster | The Propensity to Cycle Tool: methods for modelling cycling potential for research and policy
Stefan Gössling, Lund University | Why cost-benefit analyses could (and should) inspire transport policies
Verónica Sánchez, Barcelona City Council | A new model of sustainable mobility: can public space change the way we move?

Second session chairs

Haneen Khreis, Texas A&M University
James Woodcock, University of Cambridge

Register for the second session
The webinar session will take place via Zoom. Prior registration is required.
Please register at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TAq_mi8jTP2S5GCpkEcYUQ
Do you want to ask the speakers a question? Submit it here!

Seminar - The Greek National Survey on Health and Nutrition (the HYDRIA Project)
2020-06-09 14:00 - 15:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
The Greek National Survey on Health and Nutrition (the HYDRIA Project)
Dr Elissavet Valanou, FSA – European Food Risk Assessment (EU-FORA) Fellow, Hellenic Health Foundation (HHF), Greece

Watch a recording of this seminar.
Download the slides from Dr Valanou’s seminar as a PDF.
Abstract
The presentation will be focused upon presenting the methodology followed in the Greek National Health and Nutrition Survey (HYDRIA) aiming to collect highly standardized data which is comparable to other European countries’ data on health status, dietary intakes, prevalence of overweight and obesity, and health-related lifestyle choices in a representative sample of the Greek resident population. Special emphasis will be given on the development of the automated 24-hour dietary recall instrument and the harmonization of the collected consumption data to the Foodex 2 classification and description system.
About Dr Valanou
Elissavet a Nutritionist with a Ph.D in Epidemiology with more than 12 years working experience in the field of epidemiology, nutrition and physical activity at the Medical University of Athens, Department of Epidemiology and, at the Hellenic Health Foundation. My main interest involves the assessment of the population health status by adopting international standards (protocols). While working on various EU and EFSA projects, as well as on the Greek National Dietary Survey, I gained expertise in the methodology of collecting, analysing, and evaluating consumption data, as well as an in-depth knowledge on the development and evaluation of a web-based 24-hour dietary recall tool.
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Seminar - Gestational Diabetes: a nutritional disorder?
2020-06-22 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Gestational Diabetes: a nutritional disorder?
Dr Claire Meek, Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, UK.
Download the slides from Dr Meek’s seminar as a PDF.
Abstract
Gestational diabetes is the most common medical complication of pregnancy and is increasing in incidence worldwide. In this seminar we will cover the following topics:

aetiology and risk factors for gestational diabetes
diagnosis and clinical management
dietary aspects to gestational diabetes
interventions focusing on diet and physical activity.

About Dr Meek
Claire Meek is a consultant metabolic physician and a new group leader at the Institute of Metabolic Science. Her research interests include gestational diabetes and obesity in pregnancy. She has recently been awarded an intermediate clinical fellowship by Diabetes UK and a future leaders’ award from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes in association with the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
During her fellowship, she will run the DiGest study, a randomised, controlled, blinded clinical trial of a dietary intervention during late pregnancy in women with gestational diabetes. The aim of the study is to identify if a reduced calorie diet can reduce gestational weight gain and improve both pregnancy outcomes and maternal postpartum glucose homeostasis. Claire Meek works in the Institute of Metabolic Science and Metabolic Research Laboratories at the University of Cambridge.
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Seminar - INDDEX24: A Digital Solution for Streamlining Dietary Assessment in Low- and Middle-Income Countries - Dr Jennifer Coates
2020-07-28 14:00 - 15:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
INDDEX24: A Digital Solution for Streamlining Dietary Assessment in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Dr Jennifer Coates, Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.
Abstract
Individual-level quantitative dietary data are often viewed as prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to generate, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The length and cost of this process is due, in large part, to the lack of available and accessible dietary data research infrastructure (i.e. food composition data, recipes, food descriptors, portion conversions, digital data collection tools). INDDEX24 is a novel solution to many of the challenges of scaling up dietary data collection in LMICs. It is comprised of a mobile application (app) for dietary data collection that is linked to a web app for managing and sharing dietary data inputs. To maximize the time and cost saving benefits of the platform, a concerted effort will be needed to populate the web app with dietary data inputs from LMICs.
About Dr Coates
Jennifer Coates, PhD is an Associate Professor of Food Policy and Applied Nutrition at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Dr. Coates’s research focuses on the development of methods for improving the design, implementation, and evaluation of international nutrition and food security programs. She also works to develop novel metrics and tools, including those related to food security and dietary assessment, for use in low and middle income countries. Dr. Coates has served on several advisory committees, including as Co-Chair of the WHO-UNICEF Technical Expert Advisory Group for Global Nutrition Monitoring (TEAM), and teaches graduate-level courses in food policy and program monitoring and evaluation at the Friedman School.
Explore past seminars
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Seminar - Need for standardization in the global surveillance of physical activity of children and youth
2020-08-25 13:00 - 14:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Need for standardization in the global surveillance of physical activity of children and youth
Dr Salomé Aubert, Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Center; Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance
Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.
Abstract
Objective
To present findings from the available global surveillance systems of physical activity (PA) for children and youth (0-17 year-old), and to highlight research gaps and needs for their improvement.
Methods
Narrative review of the international surveillance systems, studies, and global initiatives collecting or compiling evidence on the PA among children and youth.
Results
PA surveillance systems lack standardization and are not conducted regularly. Surveillance data are mostly focused on older children and adolescents and are especially scarce for PA trends over time, vulnerable populations, and in resource-limited low-middle-income countries. Variation in the geographic patterns of PA levels are observed between studies, which could be attributed to the diversity of approaches used to measure PA.
Conclusions
There is a need for globally accepted and standardized measurement, reporting, and accountability protocols that countries can universally follow in order to have meaningful progress in the global surveillance and promotion of PA among children and youth.
About Dr Aubert
Salomé Aubert grew up in New-Caledonia but moved to France to complete three bachelor’s degrees at the Université de Rennes 2 between 2009 and 2012 in health and physical activity sciences.
She followed that with the completion of a MSc in which she worked on the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the student’s lifestyle behaviour and conditions of living way of life in the city of Rennes. She has just completed her PhD in Population Health at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Dr Mark Tremblay. Her work is focused on the international promotion of an active heathy lifestyle among children and youth.
Dr Aubert is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance. In her free time, she is also an artist and an outdoor enthusiast.
Twitter: @SalomeAubert
Instagram: @Salome.Aubert
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Seminar – Health as an asset: estimating the causal effects of health conditions and health behaviours on social and economic outcomes using Mendelian randomization
2020-09-15 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Health as an asset: estimating the causal effects of health conditions and health behaviours on social and economic outcomes using Mendelian randomization
Dr Laura Howe, MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol
Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.
Abstract
A vast body of literature describes the social determinants of health, identifying stark inequalities in many health conditions and health related behaviours. But relationships between health and social factors (such as socioeconomic position, social contact, and wellbeing) are potentially bidirectional; poor health may limit a person’s ability to achieve their full potential in education, employment or in their social life. Studying the social and socioeconomic consequences of health is fraught with difficulties due to the strong potential for confounding and reverse causation. In this talk, I will describe the use of Mendelian randomization to enhance causal inference in this topic, describing findings from UK Biobank and ALSPAC.
About Dr Howe
Laura Howe is a Reader in Epidemiology and Medical Statistics at the University of Bristol. Her two main interests are: i) the life course epidemiology of obesity and cardiovascular disease, and ii) the complex and bidirectional relationships between social factors (socioeconomic disadvantage, adverse childhood experiences) and health. Laura’s research uses statistical techniques for repeated measures data, and methods for the integration of genetic data into epidemiological studies.
Twitter:
@laurahowe_epi
@mrc_ieu
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Seminar - Road User Charging: what does existing evidence tell us?
2021-02-23 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar with:
Road User Charging – what does existing evidence tell us?
Dr Anthony Laverty, Imperial College London.
Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.
Abstract
The UK treasury has confirmed that it is actively considering introducing a national Road User Charging (RUC) scheme. This would involve charging motorists directly for their use of roads and have potential major impacts on transport behaviours and health. Although detailed proposals are yet to be released, a key motivation is to address projected declines in motoring taxes which raise £40 million pa (£34million of which is from Fuel Duty) for the UK Treasury as the country transitions away from combustible engine vehicles.
This presentation will discuss emerging evidence from a review of the health impacts of such schemes in other places as well as analyses of secondary data on the western extension zone in London.
About Dr Laverty
Anthony Laverty is a Lecturer in the Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit in the Department of Primary Care & Public Health.
HIs post is funded by the NIHR School of Public Health Research, a collaboration of eight leading academic centres in England with a focus on the generation of useful evidence for local decision makers. His research has a strong focus on the transport systems and health. He leads an assessment of the potential transport, health and inequality impacts of the introduction of road user charging in England. Previous work on transport and health involved an examination of the health benefits of the free bus pass for older people in England (together with Christopher Millett), an Understanding Society Biomarker Data Project Fellowship, and assessment of the health impacts of public transport (with Richard Patterson).
Twitter: @anthonylav
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Seminar - From a pragmatic weight management intervention to bariatric surgery
2021-03-23 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the CEDAR/MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
From a pragmatic weight management intervention to bariatric surgery
Dr Helen Parretti, University of East Anglia.
This seminar will be broadcast live online, please register in advance for this meeting:
https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkcuCvrzouG9O_jSAFbhMqJOqO1uDbHgUI
Please use your institutional email address for registration (if possible) and complete your registration at least 30 minutes prior to the seminar so that you will receive the confirmation email/access link before the seminar (your registration will be manually checked and approved).
If you do not receive the confirmation and link within 12 hours of registration please check your junk/quarantine/spam email folders, and if it’s not there contact us at seminars@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk so that we can check your registration and resend the confirmation email.
Abstract
Pregnancy can be a high-risk time for weight gain. However, the postnatal period may present an opportunity to offer weight management support. PIMMS-WL was a NIHR funded randomised controlled cluster trial investigating the feasibility and acceptability of a brief weight management intervention for postnatal women embedded within the national child immunisation programme.
This seminar will start by presenting the results of PIMMS-WL. The remainder of the seminar will focus on the long-term management of patients after bariatric surgery. The multiple health benefits of bariatric surgery are well established. However, in the longer term patients can become vulnerable to procedure specific problems, which can have long term consequences. Issues and research around the management of patients who have had bariatric surgery will be discussed.
About Dr Parretti
Dr Helen Parretti is clinical senior lecturer in Norwich Medical School. Prior to this she completed a NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship in Birmingham. She has a research interest in obesity.
Her research has mainly focussed on novel pragmatic interventions for weight management (e.g. Weigh2Go and PIMMS-WL trials) and the long-term care of patients after bariatric surgery. She led the development of the RCGP guidance for the long-term management of patients post-bariatric surgery and was a member of the expert subgroup commissioned by NHS England Obesity CRG to develop bariatric surgery follow-up guidelines.
She is the RCGP representative to the RCP JSC for diabetes and endocrinology and the RCP Advisory Group for Nutrition, Health and Weight. She was elected to the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society council in 2020.
Twitter: @helen_parretti
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Cambridge Festival 2021 - Involving people in telehealth research during the COVID-19 pandemic
2021-03-30 19:00 - 20:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
Involving people in telehealth research during the COVID-19 pandemic – The challenges of scale, engagement and inclusivity
Watch a recording of this event on our YouTube channel
Advances in online platforms, devices and smartphone technology create opportunities for researchers to continue research and engage with study participants whilst maintaining COVID-19 physical distancing rules.
In this Cambridge Festival 2021 event MRC Epidemiology Unit scientists Dr Kirsten Rennie and Dr Rebecca Richards will discuss how telehealth approaches are transforming how we are conducting research, with two examples; how we are assessing people’s health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic and in a weight management intervention.
The Fenland Study comprises over 12,000 people broadly representative of the Cambridgeshire population, and we established the Fenland COVID-19 study to determine how many participants have evidence of previous infection with COVID-19. Previously, participants in our studies have come to one of our clinical research facilities for measurements and samples to be taken, and questionnaires completed. We are now using new ways to collect data and blood samples, including an innovative blood draw device that allows a standardised dried blood spot to be taken by the participant themselves at home and sent directly back to the laboratory using regular postal service. It is the first time this device has been employed in research in the UK. The Fenland COVID-19 study also uses a bespoke app developed by Huma to collect information in real-time on symptoms, temperature and oxygen saturation, resting heart rate, diet, activity and wellbeing.
Obesity increases the risk of having a more severe COVID-19 infection. Social distancing and isolation measures imposed during the pandemic have disrupted our usual routines, and eating and exercise habits, and along with the closure of weight management services, adults with overweight and obesity may be vulnerable to weight gain. The Supporting Weight Management during COVID-19 (SWiM-C) study is evaluating a new online self-help programme to prevent weight gain and support good physical and mental health.
Innovations in telehealth such as these have promise for a range of clinical healthcare and research settings, reducing the need for people to visit clinics and maintaining better online contact. However, it is important that it is acceptable to participants and the technology does not exclude sectors of the population. The session will examine some of the challenges of these innovations posed for both researchers and participants, and how our research teams are addressing them.
Photo by Maxim Ilyahov on Unsplash

Seminar - Integrating diverse data sets to improve causal inference
2021-05-05 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Integrating diverse data sets to improve causal inference
Professor Judith Green, University of Exeter.
Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.
About this talk
Evaluating the impact of interventions on public health typically requires diverse data sets, which can be challenging to integrate in analysis. This seminar focuses on experiences of integrating epidemiological and ethnographic analysis to strengthen causal inferences, drawing on two studies of natural experiments (evaluations of the public health impacts of free bus travel and reduced street lighting at night) and a recent systematic review of Qualitative Comparative Analysis in public health.
Better integration may require a broader conceptualisation of causal relationships, attention to the timing of integration within the lifetime of a project, and disciplinary balance in research teams.
About Professor Green
Judith Green is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Philosophy & Anthropology and Director of the Wellcome Centre for Cultures & Environments of Health at the University of Exeter. She has researched and published widely on the sociology of health, health services and public health. Current research interests include mobility, environmental determinants of health and methodology.
She is co-editor of the journal Critical Public Health and co-author of the textbook Qualitative Methods for Health Research.
Twitter: @judegreen
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Anthropometry seminar - Toward a universal body composition assessment using 3D body scan
2021-05-13 15:30 - 16:30 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Unit Anthropometry Seminar:
Toward a universal body composition assessment using 3D body scan
Marcelline Dechenaud, Thecla, LLC.
Professor Steven Heymsfield, Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Watch a recording of this seminar on our YouTube channel.
About this seminar
Digital anthropometric (DA) assessments are increasingly being administered with 3D optical devices in clinical settings that manage patients with obesity and related metabolic disorders. However, anatomic measurement sites are not standardized across manufacturers, precluding use of published reference values and pooling of data across research centers.
Our group developed “universal” 3D analysis software by applying novel programming strategies capable of producing device-independent DA estimates that agree with conventional anthropometric measurements made at well-defined anatomic sites. Availability of this software, with future refinements, will facilitate clinical applications and creation of large pooled uniform anthropometric databases that can provide new insights into a wide range of research topics.
About Marcelline Dechenaud
Marcelline Dechenaud received an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Université Lyon I in France in 2018 and a MS in Motor Behavior from the Kinesiology department of Louisiana State University in 2020. She has co-developed a universal 3D analysis software and authored 10 peer reviewed publications on body composition and 3D body scan technology. She has co-founded a company that aims to merge and make available clinical body composition data from research groups around the globe. Her current position is manager of the R&D department of Thecla, LLC based in Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
About Professor Steven Heymsfield
Steven B. Heymsfield, M.D. is Professor and Director of the Body Composition-Metabolism Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of the Louisiana State University System in Baton Rouge. Dr. Heymsfield has published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers covering topics such as obesity, malnutrition, cachexia, body composition, and caloric expenditure. His contributions to the study of human nutrition led to the TOPS Award and George Bray Founders Award from The Obesity Society (TOS), the Rhoads Award from the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), the Robert H. Herman Memorial Award, American Society of Nutrition (ASN). Professor Heymsfield is past president of ASPEN, ASN and TOS.
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Seminar - Global surveillance of young people’s physical activity
2021-06-18 11:00 - 12:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Global surveillance of young people’s physical activity

Dr Regina Guthold, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent health and Ageing Department, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.
Watch a recording of this seminar and download the slides as a PDF.
About this talk
This presentation will describe the WHO Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for children and adolescents aged 5-17 years. Health benefits that can be achieved by young people being sufficiently active will be outlined. Global data on the percentage of young people meeting these guidelines will then be presented, along with data on other specific aspects of physical activity. The presentation will conclude by describing global strategies on getting children and adolescents moving, as per the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030.
About Dr Guthold
Regina Guthold, PhD, is a Scientist working on adolescent health monitoring and evaluation in the Department for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health at the World Health Organization. She holds a PhD in Health Sciences, along with two Master’s degrees (Public Health and Sport Science).
Regina has over 10 years’ work experience in surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of population health, with a focus on physical activity. She has supported governments of over 50 countries around the world in the implementation of surveillance systems. Regina is passionate about improving the health of adolescents globally, through better understanding and using health data, and through supporting positive change of environments to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
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The Broken Plate 2021 - Food Foundation event
2021-07-07 14:00 - 15:00 (Europe/Paris)
Wednesday 7 July, 2pm
Register here to be sent a Zoom link for the event.
Researchers from CEDAR at the MRC Epidemiology Unit have, for the third year in a row, contributed to the Food Foundation’s annual Broken Plate report.
Each year the report tracks progress against 10 metrics that illustrate the health of our food system. These statistics are widely quoted, and make the case for bold action.
This year’s report demonstrates that the food environment is skewed towards less healthy options, and that healthier foods are much less accessible and affordable for those on lower incomes. It powerfully shows why we must change the food environment so that it delivers healthy and sustainable diets for everyone.
Join this webinar to find out more about the findings and their implications for future policy.
The event will be chaired by Laura Sandys MBE. The speakers are:
Advertising – Barbara Crowther, Sustain
Affordability of a healthy diet – Kathleen Kerridge, Chair of The Food Foundation’s Lived Experience Panel
The cost of food – Dr Jean Adams, CEDAR, MRC Epidemiology Unit
Wages – Nye Cominetti, Resolution Foundation
Products with too much sugar – Dr Kawther Hashem and Sonia Pombo, Action on Sugar
Products with too little veg – Simon Billing, Eating Better

Seminar- Policymaking: why it matters to us, how it works, what to do
2021-07-19 12:00 - 13:15 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
All are invited to the MRC Epidemiology Seminar:
Policymaking: why it matters to us, how it works, what to do
Dolly Theis (MRC Epidemiology Unit), Dr Kelly Parsons (University Of Hertfordshire) & Dame Una O’Brien (Independent advisor and expert on health policy).
Watch a recording of this panel discussion online.
About this talk
Why is it so difficult for UK governments to make progress on tackling obesity and food systems? In this seminar, three experts will present their research and insights of policy and practice in England. The seminar will then provide discussion about how the current government could make change in policies and systems to be more sustainable manner.
Dolly Theis
It was in 1991 that the UK government first formally recognised its role in tackling obesity and set the first obesity reduction targets. Since then, our analysis found that the UK government has published 14 obesity strategies in England containing almost 700 policies and yet these have largely been unfit for purpose. Despite there being a wide range of policy types proposed from information campaigns and school policies to stronger levers such as the soft drinks industry levy and more recent policies on unhealthy advertising and promotions, the government policies have largely been proposed in a way that means they’re unlikely to be implemented. There has also been little to no policy learning and government has focused on getting people to change their own behaviour without making that easy by shaping the environment and other wider determinants.
Dr Kelly Parsons
Policies have been described as the ‘control knobs’ that can be adjusted to achieve system change, so understanding how policy does, or could, influence food systems is an important part of catalysing their transformation. Gaining this understanding requires breaking down sectoral and disciplinary silos to consider food-related policies as a whole, and interrogating the policymaking processes and governance structures which shape those policies.
This presentation will share insights from my research into how different policies, policy processes and governance structures enable and constrain food systems change. I will discuss how common frameworks for understanding and acting on food systems – such as mapping who makes policy, or detailing the range of possible policy levers – can support collaboration across government, between disciplines, and between research and policy. I will also propose a research agenda to address current evidence gaps around food policymaking.
Dame Una O’Brien
Dame Una O’Brien will give a response to the latest research presented by Dolly Thesis and Dr Kelly Parsons, and share insights from her own experience of policy and practice in England. The aim will be to contribute to the debate about practical steps the current government could take to put change on a more sustainable basis.
About the speakers
Dolly Theis
Dolly Theis is completing her PhD at the MRC Epidemiology Unit in the University of Cambridge supervised by Professor Martin White and Dr Dennis Grube. Her research examines what influences government policymaking, how governments use and understand scientific research, and understanding the particular role of policy entrepreneurs.
Dr Kelly Parsons
Dr Kelly Parsons is a food policy and governance research fellow at the University of Hertfordshire. Her research focus is food systems policies, policymaking processes and governance structures, at global, EU, national and local levels. Kelly has a particular interest in exploring connections in the food system, and efforts to create more integrated and coherent food policy. She produced the first mapping of government food policy, and is author of a series of accessible briefs on food systems, integrated food policy, policy coherence, and food governance, and ‘Connecting Food Systems for Co-Benefits’. She is a European Commission-appointed expert, and has acted as advisor on several food systems research projects. She has a PhD in food policy and a Masters in food and nutrition policy, from the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London. Before becoming a researcher Kelly worked in food civil society delivering ground-level urban food systems change, and as a journalist.
Dame Una O’Brien
Dame Una O’Brien is a former public servant in the UK Department of Health and NHS. From 2010-2016 she was the department’s Permanent Secretary and previously held a wide variety of senior strategy, policy and delivery roles in health and healthcare. Currently she is on the Council of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and she serves on an advisory board for the Obesity Health Alliance’s forthcoming Healthy Weight Strategy.

Open Cambridge - What does the UK eat? The national diet down through the decades.
2021-09-15 18:00 - 19:00 UTC | Online, United Kingdom
Spoonful by spoonful: measuring what we eat through the decades.
All are invited to join our dietary assessment experts Angela Mulligan and Dr Toni Steer for an interactive online Open Cambridge event that goes behind the scenes of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.
Free registration: https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMofumorzwsHNGgpa6Fn1RNvzg-sh_FhajB
Learn about how the Survey has played its part in dietary guidelines and our health, muse on the trends in foods and fads that have come and gone, raise your eyebrows at the level of detail we work at, and chuckle at the funny bits: even dietary assessment has its light-hearted moments!
Enjoy some do-it-yourself dietary assessment in your own home, be prepared to dig out plates, bowls and weighing scales, if you have them, and you can experience the challenges we face. You will also have a chance to complete your own online diet recall with instant dietary feedback.

Workshop for Accelerometry Measurement Africa (WAMAA)
2021-10-05 - 2021-10-07 | Online, United Kingdom
Registration is now open for the online Workshop for Accelerometry Measurement in Africa (WAMAA), which will take place over three days from Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 October 2021.
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for mortality and one of the four main risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs); with 80% of deaths from NCDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Evidence to design better physical activity interventions in LMICs across the life course is urgently needed, and this requires accurate ways of measuring free-living physical activity levels including light unstructured activities.
The Unit is partnering with the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa to deliver the Workshop, which is funded by Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund and supported by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre Measurement Platform. WAMAA aims to support African researchers conducting physical activity research with varying study objectives. The course is primarily aimed at researchers and students interested or involved in the objective monitoring of free-living physical activity. It is important that those attending the workshop implement their learning and disseminate the knowledge acquired in their own research institutions.
There is no charge for this workshop, however it is expected to attract delegates from all over Africa and spaces are limited.
Applications are now open and the closing date is Friday 27th August 2021.

More information and application details
