The link between a specific genetic marker and severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been validated in this study by researchers from several institutions and organisations, including the MRC Epidemiology Unit, Perspectum and UK Biobank. This will help to better identify individuals at increased risk of more advanced forms of the disease. NAFLD […]

In a paper published this month in Diabetes, researchers have shown that anti-insulin receptor monoclonal antibodies can improve glycaemia in a novel mouse model of human insulin receptoropathy. Mutations of the insulin receptor can cause severe insulin resistance and early diabetes, usually resulting in death in childhood. To date there has been no way to […]

MRC Epidemiology Unit Director Nick Wareham has contributed to recent research that is being used to help the NHS offer greater support to those with diabetes. The research, published in in two papers in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology shows that people living with diabetes face a significantly higher risk of dying with COVID-19. A third […]

Cambridge University MPhil courses in epidemiology, public health and primary care are evolving in to a new MPhil in Population Health Sciences (PHS). This new course is jointly run by the MRC Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, and the MRC Biostatistics Unit (BSU), with contributions from colleagues across the University. The MPhil […]

Congratulations to Dr Nadia Schoenmakers who gave the  2020 Van Meter Award lecture on 12 September during the first ever virtual meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA). The award, established in 1930, recognizes outstanding contributions to research on the thyroid gland or related subjects and is given each year to an investigator no more […]

Explanations around ‘heavy chests’ and upper airways narrowed by fat just don’t cut it, – we have to look closely into the metabolic effects associated with obesity. Only then will we possibly find paths to interventions that can really be protective. A recent interview with IMS-MRL and MRC-MDU Director, Prof Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, on the […]

Physical activity of any intensity is beneficial for health, but more intense activity has greater benefits, according to a new study published today in Nature Medicine. In the largest study to date of accelerometer-measured physical activity, a team led by MRC Epidemiology Unit researchers analysed data from more than 96,000 UK Biobank participants. Current physical […]

A new review, published by Public Health England in advance of the government’s ‘Better Health’ campaign launched today, considers  some of the data and discussions which have started to emerge around the relationship between obesity and COVID-19. Expert opinions on the review were invited by the Science Media Centre  and include comments from our Director […]

Participants in Cambridgeshire’s Fenland Study are being invited to join an innovative study that will use a home-administered blood sampling device to find out how many have evidence in their blood of previous COVID-19 infection. Many of these participants will also be eligible for a sub-study using a smartphone app. The Fenland COVID-19 Study, led […]

In a study published this week in the journal Cell Reports, researchers from the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke’s Hospital, have found that women who do not need pain relief during childbirth may be carriers of a key genetic variant that acts a natural epidural. Childbirth is widely recognised as a painful experience. However, every […]