Professor Kate Northstone
B.Sc.(Hull), M.Sc.(Soton), PhD
Current positions
Professor of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
I have been Executive Director for data at ALSPAC snce May 2017, having previously worked with the study between 1995 and 2015. I manage the data team and contribute to the day to day operational and strategic running of the study. I have full responsiblity for all aspects of data systems, data pipeline and data access.
I graduated from an MSc in Medical Statistics in 1995. I achieved a PhD by publication in 2008 in nutriitonal epidemiology. I have a number of research interests - past focus has been on nutrition, particularly looking at the diet as a whole through dietary patterns and I have published with experts in the fields of vision, asthma and allergy. I am developing my interest in the science of running, maintaining and collecting the best data from cohort studies.
Between 2015 and 2017 I was the Effectiveness lead at NIHR CLHARC West, leading a number of projects with a clinical focus and managing a team of quantitative analysts.
Teaching
I am the unit lead for the dissertation module for both the Public Health and Epidemiology Masters courses in the school, plus the 'Study Design' Unit for Epidemiology. I am a case-based facilitator for the first year medical students under the new curriculum and teach Evidence Based Medicine. I have organised and taught on departmental short courses: "Introduction to Stata" and "Introduction to Statistics".
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Ultra processed foods and the risk of weight gain/obesity and related outcomes in ALSPAC
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/08/2025 to 31/07/2030
ALSPAC Renewal 2024 to 2029
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/08/2024 to 31/07/2029
ALSPAC Renewal 2024 to 2029
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/08/2024 to 31/07/2029
Translating the Lived Experience of Heatwaves into Policy Action
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
‘Translating Lived Experience into Policy Action’ is funded by Research England. It builds on the previous University of Bristol project, ‘Understanding lived experience and behaviour during heatwaves’.
Climate change has…Managing organisational unit
Department of EnglishDates
01/08/2024 to 31/07/2025
Understanding lived experience and behaviour during heatwaves
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
With 40°C heat becoming more and more commonplace in the UK where overheating in homes and buildings is a key risk (Climate Change Committee, 2021), understanding the lived experience of…Dates
01/10/2023 to 31/07/2024
Thesis supervisions
Publications
Selected publications
01/01/2012The associations between feeding difficulties and behaviours and dietary patterns at 2 years of age: the ALSPAC cohort
Maternal and Child Nutrition
A comparison of dietary patterns derived by cluster and principal components analysis in a UK cohort of children
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Are dietary patterns in childhood associated with IQ at 8 years of age? A population-based cohort study
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
Factors associated with the development of peanut allergy in childhood
New England Journal of Medicine
Recent publications
26/01/2026Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) summary education attainment values in the offspring generation
Wellcome Open Research
Age-related change in children’s physical activity and sedentary time
PLOS ONE
Associations between 24-hour movement compositions and cardiometabolic health in children and adolescents
BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine
Associations Between Eating Windows and Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents from the ALSPAC Cohort
Nutrients
Dietary and related data collected during pregnancy in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)
Wellcome Open Research
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