Research interests: cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology; decision sciences; public health interventions; complexity and network analysis.
Teaching: Programme Director for Masters in Publich Health at QUB.
Research statement: Currently I direct the UKCRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health Research (NI) and am Deputy Director for the Centre for Public Health in Queens University. The Centre of Excellence, one of five in the UK, is multidisciplinary and spans three Faculties in the University and a range of external stakeholders. Its research scope embraces determinants of public health from molecules to populations, as well as public health interventions. It was set up deliberately with an outward looking vision to connect academics to the practitioner and policy making communities. Its partners, represented in the management Executive and Board, include the DHSSPSNI, the Public Health Agency, the Public Health Institute for Ireland and the Community Development and Health Network.
Professional Qualifications
Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the National Prevention Research Initiative, 2005-present. (MRC, Wellcome, DoH).
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the NIHR Public Health Research programme (2009- )
Member of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Public Health Topic Selection Panel (2006-2010)
Member of the Cardiovascular Health Committee of the Faculty of Public Health (London) (2009-)
Chairman of the Public Health National Specialty Group of the UKCRN
Member of the Advisory Board of the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy
External Examiner for the Masters in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 2006-present.
Conference Contributions
| A Monte Carlo simulation model to assess volunteer response times in a Public Access Defibrillation scheme in Northern Ireland | 2006 | |
| A Monte Carlo Simulation Model to Assess the Impact of a Public Access Defibrillation Scheme in Northern Ireland | 2006 | |
| A Public Access Defibrillation scheme in Northern Ireland: the impact of the emergency medical services dispatch mechanism on the success of the scheme | 2006 | |
| A Public Access Defibrillation scheme in Northern Ireland: building a simulation model to assess its impact | 2006 | |
| A Public Access Defibrillation trial in urban and rural communities in Northern Ireland: Developing the roster model | 2005 | |
|
A Public Access Defibrillation scheme in Northern Ireland: exploring the impact of a mobile volunteer’s availability
|
2005 | |
Journal Publications
|
The value of positron emission tomography in patients with non-small cell lung cancer |
European Journal of Radiology Vol 73 (50-58) |
2010 |
|
Anthropometric assessment of abdominal obesity and coronary heart disease risk in men: the Prime Study |
Heart Vol 96 (136-140) DOI |
2010 |
|
Using simulation to assess cardiac first responder schemes exhibiting stochastic and spatial complexities. |
Journal of the Operational Research Society Vol 00 (00-00) DOI |
2010 |
|
Contribution of 30 Biomarkers to 10year cardiovascular risk estimation in 2 population cohorts the MONICA, Risk, Genetics Archiving and Monograph MORGAM biomarker project |
Circulation Vol 121 (2388-2397) DOI |
2010 |
|
Association between the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and cardiovascular disease in male smokers and non-smokers |
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol 64 (578-586) DOI |
2010 |
|
Patterns of alcohol consumption and ischaemic heart disease in culturally divergent countries The prospective epidemiological study of myocardial infarction (PRIME) |
British Medical Journal Vol 341 (1146-0) DOI |
2010 |
|
C-Reactive protein interleukin 6 fibrinogen and risk of sudden death in European middle aged men |
Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Vol 0 (0-0) |
2010 |
|
Stroke risk estimation across nine European countries in the MORGAM project |
Heart Vol 96 (1997-2004) DOI |
2010 |
|
An all-Ireland epidemiological study of MND, 2004-2005 |
European Journal of Neurology Vol 16 (148-153) DOI |
2009 |
|
Association of common variants in NPPA and NPPB with circulating natriuretic peptides and blood pressure |
Nature Genetics Vol 3 (348-353) DOI |
2009 |
|
The impact of newly identified loci on coronary heart disease, stroke and total mortality in the MORGAM prospective cohorts |
Genetic Epidemiology Vol 33 (237-246) DOI |
2009 |
|
Lack of association between polymorphisms of the IL18R1 and IL18RAP genes and cardiovascular risk: the MORGAM Project |
BMC Medical Genetics Vol 10 (44) (1-15) DOI |
2009 |
|
Contribution of cardiovascular risk factors to coronary risk in patients with intermittent claudication in the PRIME Cohort Study of European men |
Atherosclerosis Vol 206 (563-568) DOI |
2009 |
|
Respective contribution of conventional risk factors and antihypertensive treatment to stable angina pectoris and acute coronary syndrome as the first presentation of coronary heart disease the PRIME study |
European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Vol 16(5) (550-555) |
2009 |
|
Ten-year all-cause mortality in presumably healthy subjects on lipid - lowering drugs |
American Journal of Cardiology Vol 103(3) (381-386) |
2009 |
|
The practical implications of using standardised estimation equations in calculating the prevalence of chronic kidney disease |
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation Vol * (542-548) DOI |
2008 |
|
The obstacles to maximising the impact of public access defibrillation: an assessment of the dispatch mechanism for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest |
Heart Vol 94 (349-353) DOI |
2008 |
|
Obesity and the lung:1 Epidemilology |
Thorax Vol 63 (649-654) DOI |
2008 |
|
Contribution of novel biomarkers to incident stable angina and acute coronary syndrome: the prime study |
European Heart Journal Vol 29 (1966-1974) DOI |
2008 |
|
The practical implications of using standardized estimation equations in calculating the prevalence of chronic kidney disease |
NDT Vol 23 (542-548) |
2008 |
|
Paraoxonase activity and coronary heart disease risk in healthy middle-aged males: the prime study |
Atherosclerosis Vol 197 (556-563) DOI |
2008 |
|
Persistently raised C-reactive protein levels are associated with advanced periodontal disease |
Journal Of Clinical Periodontology Vol 35 (741-747) |
2008 |
|
The Northern Ireland Public Access Defibrillation (NIPAD) study: effectiveness in urban and rural populations |
Heart Vol 94 (1614-1619) DOI |
2008 |
|
Haplotypic analysis of tag SNPs of the interleukin-18 gene in relation to cardiovascular disease events: the MORGAM Project |
European Journal of Human Genetics Vol 16 (1512-1520) |
2008 |
|
Smoking hapbits, waist circumference and coronary artery disease risk relationship: the Prime Study |
European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Vol 15 (625-630) |
2008 |
|
The association of telomere length with paternal history of premature myocardial infarction in the European Atherosclerosis Research Study II |
Journal of Molecular Medicine Vol 86 (815-824) DOI |
2008 |
|
Homocysteine and coronary heart disease risk in the PRIME study |
Atherosclerosis Vol 191 (90-97) DOI |
2007 |
|
Obesity and periodontitis in 60-70-year-old men |
Journal Of Clinical Periodontology Vol 34(6) (461-466) DOI |
2007 |
|
Offering a prognosis in lung cancer: when is a team of experts an expert team. |
Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health Vol 61 (308-313) DOI |
2007 |
|
Are gatekeepers to renal services referring patients equitably? |
Journal of Health Services Research and Policy Vol 12(1) (36-41) DOI |
2007 |
|
Neutrophil elastase gene variation and coronary heart disease |
Pharmacogenetics and Genomics Vol 17 (629-637) |
2007 |
|
Lack of association between complement factor H polymorphisms and coronary artery disease or myocardial infarction |
Journal of Molecular Medicine Vol 85 (771-775) |
2007 |
|
Endovascular abdominal aortie aneurysm repair (EVRAR: a systematic review) |
European Journal of Vascular Endovascular Surgery Vol 34 (673-681) |
2007 |
|
Endovascular treatment for ruptured abdominal aortie |
Cochrane Database System Review Vol 24 (5261-5261) |
2007 |
|
Patterns of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular risk in northern ireland and france. |
Annals of Epidemiology Vol 17 (75-80) DOI |
2007 |
|
Genetic variants of complement factor H gene are not associated with premature coronary heart disease: a family-based study in the Irish population. |
BMC medical genetics [electronic resource] Vol 8 (1-5) DOI |
2007 |
|
Association of overweight with increased risk of coronary heart disease partly independent of blood pressure and cholesterol levels: a meta analysis of 21 cohort studies including more than 300,000 persons. |
Arch Intern Medicine Vol 167 (1720-1728) |
2007 |
|
Type A behaviour and consumption of an atherogenic diet: no association in the PRIME study. |
Appetite Vol 49(3) (554-560) DOI |
2007 |
|
Bilirubin and coronary heart disease risk in the Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction (PRIME). |
European journal of cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation : official journal of the European Society of Cardiology, Working Groups on Epidemiology Vol 14(1) (79-84) DOI |
2007 |
|
Depressed mood and dietary fish intake: direct relationship or indirect relationship as a result of diet and lifestyle? |
Journal of Affective Disorders Vol 104(1-3) (217-223) DOI |
2007 |
|
No major effect of inflammatory gene polymorphisms on myocardial infaction - a system genetics approach |
Journal of Molecular Medicine Vol 85 (1271-1280) |
2007 |
|
Demographic and temporal trends in out of hospital sudden cardiac death in belfast |
Heart Vol 92 (311-315) DOI |
2006 |
|
Haplotypes of the Caspase-1 Gene, Plasma Caspase-1 Levels, and Cardiovascular Risk |
Circulation Research Vol 99(1) (102-108) DOI |
2006 |
|
Diet and body mass, and oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas: analysis from the IARC multinational case-control study |
International journal of cancer. Journal international du cancer Vol 118 (2293-2297) |
2006 |
|
A cross-sectional comparison of direct medical care costs among COPD and asthma patients living in the community in Northern Ireland |
Treat Respiratory Medicine Vol 5 (1-8) |
2006 |
|
Pre-hospital coronary care and coronary fatality in the Belfast and Glasgow MONICA populations |
International Journal of Epidemiology Vol 34(2) (422-430) DOI |
2005 |
|
A potential pitfall in the use of the disease activity score (DAS28) as the main response criterion in treatment guidelines for patients with rheumatoid arthritus |
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases Vol 64 (506-507) |
2005 |
|
Late referral for assessment of renal failure |
Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health Vol 59 (386-388) |
2005 |
|
Rheumatologists’ judgements about the efficacy of anti-TNF therapy in two neighbouring regions |
Rheumatology Vol 44 (1407-1413) |
2005 |
|
The prevalence of obstructive lung disease in a general population sample: the NICECOPD study |
European Journal of Epidemiology Vol 20 (443-453) |
2005 |
|
Rheumatologists’ judgements about the efficacy of anti-TNF therapy in two neighbouring regions |
Rheumatology Vol 44(11) (1407-1413) DOI |
2005 |
|
TAF1 gene haplotypes, TAF1 plasma levels and future risk of coronary heart disease: the PRIME Study |
Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis Vol 3 (1503-1510) |
2005 |
|
In-depth haplotype analysis of ABCA1 gene polymorphisms in relation to plasma ApoA1 levels and myocardial infarction |
Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Vol 24 (775-781) |
2004 |
|
Improved survival for melanoma in northern ireland: a comparison of two 5-year periods (1984-88 and 1994-98) |
British Journal of Dermatology Vol 151 (587-593) |
2004 |
|
Polymorphism R92Q of the tumour necrosis factor receptor 1 gene is associated with myocardial infarction and carotid intima-media thickness - the ECTIM, AXA, EVA and GENIC studies |
European Journal of Human Genetics Vol 12 (213-219) |
2004 |
|
Decision making in a multidisplinary cancer team: does team discussion result in better quality decisions? |
Medical Decision Making Vol 24 (602-613) |
2004 |
|
Critical thinking and critical appraisal: the chicken and the egg? |
QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians Vol 97 (609-614) DOI |
2004 |
|
Variation in USF1 shows haplotype effects, gene:gene and gene: environment associations with glucose and lipid parameters in the European Atherosclerosis Research Study II |
Human Molecular Genetics Vol 13 (1587-1597) DOI |
2004 |
|
Predicting survival after treatment for fracture of the proximal femur and the effect of delays to surgery |
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology Vol 56 (788-795) |
2003 |
|
Human Papillomavirus and Oral Cancer: the International Agency for Research on Cancer Multicenter Study |
Journal of the National Cancer Institute Vol 95 (23) (1772-1783) DOI |
2003 |
|
Fast and frugal models of clinical judgement in novice and expert physicians |
Medical Decision Making Vol 23(4) (293-300) DOI |
2003 |
|
Secular trends in stroke mortality and early-life environment |
The Lancet Vol 361 (1059-1060) |
2003 |
|
Fast and frugal models of clinical judgement in novice and expert physicians |
Medical Decision Making Vol 23 (293-300) |
2003 |
|
High expressor paraoxonase PONI gene promoter polymorphisms are associated with reduced risk of vascular disease in younger coronary patients |
Atherosclerosis Vol 161 (463-467) |
2002 |
|
A novel cholesteryl ester-transfer protein promoter polymorphism (-971G/A) associated with plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels - interaction with the TaqIB and -629C/A polymorphisms |
Atherosclerosis Vol 161 (269-279) |
2002 |
|
Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism and Myocardial Infarction - Etude Cas-te’moins de L’Infarctus du Myocarde (ECTIM) |
Circulation Vol 105 (25) (2493-2495) DOI |
2002 |
|
Colorectal cancer mortality in first-degree relatives of early onset colorectal cancer cases |
Diseases of the Colon and Rectum Vol 45 (681-686) |
2002 |
|
Polymorphisms of the beta(2)-adrenoceptor (ADRB2) gene and essential hypertension: the ECTIM and PEGASE studies |
Journal of Hypertension Vol 20 (229-235) |
2002 |
|
Judgement analysis of prioritization decisions within a dialysis program in one united kingdom region |
Medical Decision Making Vol 22 (140-151) |
2002 |
|
Characterization of polymorphic structure of cathespin G gene - role in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases |
Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Vol 21 (1538-1543) |
2001 |
|
Potentially malignant oval lesions in northern ireland: a 20-year population-based perspective of malignant transformation |
Oral Diseases Vol 7 (18-24) |
2001 |
|
Flexible sigmoidoscopy and the changing distribution of colorectal cancer: implications for screening |
Gut Vol 48(4) (522-525) DOI |
2001 |
|
Assocation studies between haemochromatosis gene mutations and the risk of cardiovascular diseases |
European Journal of Clinical Investigation Vol 31 (382-388) |
2001 |
|
New polymorphisms in the interleukin-10-gene- relationships to myocardial infarction |
European Journal of Clinical Investigation Vol 31 (9-14) |
2001 |
|
Infection with virulent strains of helicobacter pylori is not associated with ischaemic heart disease: evidence from a population-based case-control study of myocardial infarction |
Atherosclerosis Vol 149 (379-385) |
2000 |
|
Do polymorphisms of apoB, LPL or apoE affect the hypocholesterolemic response to weight loss? |
Atherosclerosis Vol 153 (119-128) |
2000 |
|
Angiotensin II type-1 receptor and ACE polymorphisms and risk of myocardial infarction in men and women |
European Journal of Clinical Investigation Vol 30 (1076-1082) |
2000 |
|
Polymorphisms of the P-selectin gene and risk of myocardial infarction in men and women in the ECTIM extension study |
Heart Vol 84 (548-551) |
2000 |
|
Clinical decision making in nephrology…renal function might not be the most important thing to measure |
Journal of Nephrology Vol 13 (415-418) |
2000 |
|
Urban-rural differences in total hip replacements: the next stage |
Journal of Public Health Medicine Vol 22 (435-438) |
2000 |
|
Stewardship or clinical freedom? Variations in dialysis decision making |
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation Vol 15 (1647-1657) |
2000 |
|
Confidence limits and the limits of confidence |
Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (JIAPAC) Vol 93 (121-124) |
2000 |
|
Short Stature and Heart Disease Nature or Nurture |
International Journal of Epidemiology Vol 26(4) (748-756) |
1997 |
|
Expanding access to coronary artery bypass surgery: who stands to gain |
British Heart Journal Vol 73 (129-133) |
1995 |
|
Are the economically active more deserving? |
British Heart Journal Vol 73 (385-389) |
1995 |
|
Is choice of general practitioner important for patients having coronary artery investigations?
Other Output(s) Endovascular treatment for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (review) |
Quality in Health Care Vol 3 (17-22)
Internet publication |
1994
2007 |