About
I'm a Professor of Health Informatics with expertise in evaluating natural experiments and non-randomised intervention studies using anonymised linked administrative and health datasets.
My research focuses on using safe haven data that have been linked across health, social and environmental domains to explore the impact of exposures such as decent housing conditions, alcohol outlets, pollution, and natural outdoor spaces, on health and wellbeing.
I am co-Director of a UK Prevention Research Partnership, GroundsWell. This Consortium aims to reduce health inequities of non communicable diseases through the provision of appropriate urban green and blue spaces. We work across the Liverpool, Belfast, and Edinburgh city regions.
As an investigator on the UKRI funded 'Healthy Urban Places' Consortium, I'm leading work on using data to evaluate the impact changes to our cities are having on the health of residents across Bradford and Liverpool, paying particular interest in ensuring the changes help those people who need them the most.
Unlocking the potential of satellite imagery to provide a much richer understanding of urgent challenges facing the UK is something I'm helping with as an investigator on Imago.
I'm an investigator on the Wellcome Trust funded birth cohort Children Growing Up in Liverpool and Civic Data Cooperative data linkage initiative.
I am one of the academic leads for the Liverpool and Lancaster School for Public Health Research LiLaC. I am the capacity training lead for LiLaC SPHR.
I lead the Care and Health Informatics theme for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (Northwest Coast). I bring my research expertise to the development of the NW Secure Data Environment to enable system-wide evaluations, using data across different organisational siloes using a 'bring your own data' approach.
Read about our Environmental Health focussed ‘Data Linkage Manifesto’ and a related learning health system paper that includes the environmental determinants of health.
We are working with partners across the north to use routinely collected data to help clinicians provide better care for their patients.
See a summary of our housing and health research here. I am also an investigator on a School for Public Health project focussed on temporary accommodation and how it impacts families with children.
I was principal investigator for an NIHR Public Health Research funded study evaluating the mental health and wellbeing impact of access to green and blue spaces (e.g. parks and beaches). Listen to a podcast from the NIHR about our work on evidencing the links between local green spaces and mental health.