Innocent Anioke

Profile

I joined, Nuffield Centre for International Health and Development (NCIHD), Leeds Institute fo Health Sceincs(LIHS), the University of Leeds as a Teaching Fellow in 2024, alongside which I completed a PhD in immune biomarker for clinical outcome prediction across Inflammatory Arthritis continnum (2019 to 2024). In parallel, I worked as a Research Assistant at the Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine (LIRMM), where I coordinated proteomic assays for osteoarthritis and Long-COVID, previously designed multicolour flow cytometry panels for early psoriatic arthritis studies, and data collection, analysis and visualiation. My earlier career includes serving as Lecturer in Clinical Chemistry at the University of Nigeria (2012 to 2019), where my teaching and research centred on laboratory management of and biomarkers for cardiometabolic disease prediction, and working as a Biomedical Scientist at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu (2011 to 2012).

Drawing on my dual training in biomedical sciences and public health–health promotion, my work sits at the intersection of biomedical science, epidemiology, and data-driven health research. My teaching and supervision portfolio at Leeds spans undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and I lead curriculum innovation on Data Analysis for Populatoion Health for Online MSc Global Health. This reflects my commitment to equipping the next generation of health professionals with the skills to integrate biomarker research, data analysis, and public health insights in tackling global health challenges.

Responsibilities

• Teaching and Supervision
• Nuffield Sub-REC Research Ethics Committee role
• Module lead

Research interests

I have extensive expertise in immune biomarker discovery and translational research, with a particular focus on integrating laboratory-based data with clinical data from the NHS. My core interests lie in applying data-driven approaches including multiple imputation, descriptive and inferential statistics, and predictive modelling for clinical outcomes to improve patient management and disease risk stratification.

I have worked with diverse datasets from community and clinical settings in low-income countries, including studies of adults with type 2 diabetes in South-Eastern Nigeria, where I predicted biomarkers of poor glycaemic control, and analysed the ABO blood group system to characterise metabolic health status and cardiovascular risk. Recently, I investigated the biomarker value of immune cells (18 lymphocytes subsets) for predicting clinical outcomes across all stages of inflammatory arthritis continuum using data from Leeds Inflammatory Arthritis Disease Continuum and Coordinated Programme to Prevent Arthritis registers between 2008-2022.

My current research is directed towards advancing precision population health interventions for chronic diseases. Specifically, I am developing innovative data-driven approaches to uncover immune–metabolic variations in obesity, with the aim of improving risk prediction for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This work also supports the design of more inclusive public health messaging, helping to reduce the stigma associated with obesity and promoting equitable approaches to disease prevention.

Qualifications

• PhD in Immune biomarker phenotyping across the Inflammatory Arthritis Continuum, University of Leeds
• MSc in Biomedical Sciences (Clinical Chemistry specialty), University of Nigeria,
• MSc in Public Health-Health Promotion, Leeds Beckett University
• BSc in Biomedical Sciences, University of University

Professional memberships

• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC),
• Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN)

Student education

My teaching and supervision portfolio at Leeds spans undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and I lead curriculum innovation on Data Analysis for Population Health for Online MSc Global Health.

I am involved in teaching a wide range of undergraduate (MBChB) and postgraduate (MPH and MSc international Health) courses in the School of Medicine.