I am a senior research associate at the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (MRC-IEU) based at the University of Bristol. My current research involves applying causal and predictive methodologies to explore the role of intrauterine and early infancy exposures on ethnic differences in growth, adiposity, body composition, and markers of cardiometabolic health. I work with data from the Born in Bradford birth cohort which tracks the health and wellbeing of over 13,500 children, and their parents born at Bradford Royal Infirmary between March 2007 and December 2010.

Previous work has involved applying Mendelian Randomization techniques to investigate the causal relationships between one-carbon micronutrients such as folate with a range of cancers. I worked with several datasets including ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children), UK Biobank and a variety of cancer-specific consortium data.

I have also investigated or contributed analyses to the role of DNA methylation in outcomes such as asthma, lung function, and blood pressure. These studies were conducted as part of the Pregnancy and Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) consortium. I have also contributed towards the investigation of the genetics of DNA methylation as part of the Genetics of DNA Methylation Consortium (GoDMC).

I gained my PhD at the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) based at the University of Bristol. I investigated the contribution of quantitative nucleic acid markers such as salivary amylase copy number variation, mtDNA copy number, and cell-free mtDNA copy number with a number of health outcomes and risk factors in ALSPAC. As well as having a statistical epidemiology framework, this PhD had a substantive lab element in quantifying these markers in large population cohorts.