
Professor Nicholas Timpson
BA(Oxon), MSc(Oxon), PhD(Bristol), PGCHE
Expertise
The application of genetic epidemiology to the dissection of potentially causal relationships between modifiable risk factors and complex health outcomes. Best use of population-based resources to understand health and wellbeing.
Current positions
Professor of Genetic Epidemiology
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Contact
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Biography
My research focuses on the application of genetic epidemiology to the dissection of potentially causal relationships between modifiable risk factors and complex health outcomes. My programmatic work specifically focuses on understanding body mass index (BMI) as a risk factor - using a variety of study designs and molecular phenotyping to examine pathways to disease and intervention effects. I lead work applying these methods to questions on the aetiology of cancer, cardiovascular health and the role of the environment in cardiometabolic health. I am Principle Investigator of The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac) and have become increasingly involved in the strategic deployment of population based resources in a coordinated manner to address population health. This has been most starkly demonstrated in the case of COVID_19, where through collaboration with the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium, Wellcome Longitudinal Population Studies COVID-19 Questionnaire Research Group, National Core Studies (Longitudinal Health and Wealth) and NIHR/UKRI non-hospitalised longCOVID group “CONVALESCENCE”, I have helped with work providing a population-based contribution to the understanding of pandemic impact.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
LHW-NCS COVID-19 Home Antibody Testing Study
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
19/04/2022 to 30/09/2022
The CIVIC Project: Predicting Covid-19 Impact On Vulnerable Individuals And Communities Via Health, Deprivation, And Loyalty-card Data
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
08/01/2021 to 07/01/2022
8073 (Closed -Use R102088-102) COVID Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (LLC) WP2
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/11/2020 to 31/03/2021
8073 CO-CONNECT: COVID - Curated and Open aNalysis aNd rEsearCh (MR/V03488X/1)
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
29/10/2020 to 28/04/2022
Investigating five large population-based cohort studies to understand for the precursors of multimorbidity risk
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/09/2020 to 31/03/2021
Thesis supervisions
Complex trait architecture through the lens of epigenome-wide association studies
Supervisors
The use of genetic data in dental epidemiology to explore the causes and consequences of caries and periodontitis
Supervisors
Investigating Offspring Mental Health Outcomes Associated with Maternal Prenatal Alcohol Use
Supervisors
Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms
Supervisors
What lies behind the causal impact of body mass index level and change on human health? Added value from complementary study design and deep metabolomic phenotyping.
Supervisors
Vitamin D and head and neck cancer: A examination of causality and mechanisms.
Supervisors
Exploring the effect of adiposity on platelet function and related pathways
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
01/01/2023Association of Early Childhood Caries with Bitter Taste Receptors
Genes
Characterising patterns of COVID-19 and long COVID symptoms
European Journal of Epidemiology
Evaluation and deployment of isotype-specific salivary antibody assays for detecting previous SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adults
Communications Medicine
Loci for insulin processing and secretion provide insight into type 2 diabetes risk
American Journal of Human Genetics
Separating the effects of early and later life adiposity on colorectal cancer risk
BMC Medicine