Population Studies (Epidemiology)

In two successive Research Assessment Exercises (RAEs) (1996 and 2001), epidemiological research at St George’s was "flagged" for special mention, equivalent in RAE 2001 to a 5* rating within the overall 4 grading obtained for Community-based Clinical Subjects (UoA2). Our research quality profile at RAE 2008, based on 10.9 FTE category A staff returned under Epidemiology & Public Health (UoA6) was as follows:

4-star (world-leading): 10%

3-star (internationally excellent): 55%

2-star (internationally recognised): 30%

1-star (nationally recognised): 5%

Unclassified: 0%

Since RAE 2001, we have been successful in raising major grants from strategic funding initiatives at the Medical Research Council (Health of the Public), Wellcome Trust (Biomedical Resources for Functional Genomics), Department of Health (air-pollution research) and European Union (air-pollution, allergy, and health-services research). Grants awarded to CHS principal investigators during 2001-2008 totalled over £10million.

Our current research themes include:

Within CHS, Epidemiology forms a research centre divided into four sub-themes:

• Cardiovascular epidemiology: Prof Peter Whincup
• Respiratory & environmental epidemiology: Prof Ross Anderson
• Life-course and genetic epidemiology: Prof David Strachan
• Primary care epidemiology: Prof Derek Cook

Major epidemiological research resources held within the department include:

• The British Regional Heart Study
• The Ten Towns Children’s Study
• The British 1958 Birth Cohort Biomedical Follow-up and DNA Collection
• The Doctors’ Independent Network database of primary care consultations
• The Department of Health Air Pollution Epidemiology Database
• The Lung & Asthma Information Agency databases of routine data relating to respiratory disease

Members of the Centre of Epidemiology also contribute to teaching and examining in population medicine and public health.