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Dr Darren C Greenwood

Dr Darren C Greenwood

  • Position: Senior Lecturer in Biostatistics
  • Areas of expertise: biostatistics; epidemiology; meta-analysis; randomized controlled trials; nutrition; long COVID
  • Email: D.C.Greenwood@leeds.ac.uk
  • Phone: +44(0)113 343 1813
  • Location: 11.070 Worsley Building
  • Website: Researchgate | ORCID

Profile

Having initially studied mathematics at the University of Southampton, Darren moved to Leicester to specialise in medical statistics. After gaining his MSc, Darren worked in Nottingham with cardiovascular trial data, running a study of knee injury and osteoarthritis, and was statistical lead a randomised controlled trial of grommets for children with glue ear. Darren’s PhD thesis was on the topic of statistical analysis of measurement error in epidemiological exposures, from the University of Leeds. In 1996 he took the position of Lecturer in Medical Statistics at the University, and headed up the University's fledgling medical statistics group in the School of Medicine, taking the position of Senior Lecturer in Biostatistics in 2007.

Darren is on the Editorial Board for a number of journals including the International Journal of Obesity and BMC Medicine. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), providing independent scientific advice on nutrition and related health matters to the Department of Health and Social Care and other UK government organisations. He also contributes to a number of SACN working groups, including joint work with Diabetes UK, maternal health, and currently chairs the methods development working group. Darren is also a member of the UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee (UKNHCC), providing scientific advice to the UK government on the substantiation of scientific evidence underpinning nutrition and health claims. He was recently the Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Nutritional Epidemiology and is currently joint lead for REF UoA2 at the university.

Responsibilities

  • Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Nutritional Epidemiology
  • Joint Lead for Research Excellence Framework Unit of Assessment 2

Research interests

Darren’s research interests are motivated by addressing statistical challenges found in applied health research. Challenges include modelling of complex data structures, such as hierarchical data, rapidly fluctuating exposure data, and outcome data that varies over time, many of which benefit from a Bayesian perspective. He has developed and applied statistical methods to a range of clinical areas, including maternal health and nutrition, perinatal epidemiology, cardiometabolic outcomes, and more recently Long COVID.

Darren has designed and had been statistical lead on a number of randomized controlled trials of complex interventions, including cluster randomized trials of diet and obesity, and interventions to improve uptake of colorectal cancer screening. He has conducted a large number of influential meta-analyses, including as expert statistical advisor to the World Cancer Research Fund Continuous Update Project. More recent work has involved the application of methods to big data linkage in obesity and nutrition, and intensive longitudinal data in Long COVID.

Recent funding includes:

PhD students:

Xinyue Liu 2025-
Norah Almutairi 2023-
Yuanyuan Dong 2020-
James Webster 2020-2024
Maria Galazoula 2018-2025
Victoria Jenneson 2017-2022
Sukshma Sharma
Yashvee Dunneram 2015-2020
Lesley Smith 2015-2020
Fatin Danial 2015-2023
Onkabetse Mabikwa 2014-2019
Camilla Nykjaer 2012-2017
Marlous van Laar 2011-2015
Diane Threapleton 2010-2014
Nisreen Alwan 2010-2014
Jayne Hutchinson 2009-2012
Elizabeth McGinnis 2007-2012
Andrew Blance 2007-2015
Charlotte Evans 2006-2010
Joan Ransley 1997-2002
Ula Nur 1999-2004

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Some research projects I'm currently working on, or have worked on, will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://medicinehealth.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>
Primary investigator (PI)
Co-investigator (Co-I)

Qualifications

  • PhD Biostatistics and Epidemiology
  • MSc Medical statistics
  • BSc Mathematics
  • PGCert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Professional memberships

  • UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee and EU transition scientific risk assessment (UKNHCC)
  • Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN)
  • SACN Subgroup on framework and methods for evaluation of evidence
  • SACN Vitamin D working group
  • SACN Nutrition and Maternal Health Working Group
  • International Journal of Obesity - Statistical Editor
  • BMC Medicine - Editorial Board member, Statistical Editor

Student education

I currently teach undergraduate medics on two MBChB research and evaluation modules, teach statistical methods to postgraduates on the MSc in Health Research, and supervise three PhD students.

Research groups and institutes

  • Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine
  • Clinical and Population Science
<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>