Dr Jean Adams
Senior lecturer in Public Health

Introduction 

I am social and behavioural epidemiologist with key research interests in socio-economic inequalities in health behaviours, and food policy.  With formal training in medicine, epidemiology, health psychology and science communication, I bring a wide range of perspectives to my research and collaborate with colleagues across a variety of disciplines. I currently hold a Career Development Fellowship funded by the National Institute of Health Research (2012-2015) exploring the use of financial incentives on health behaviours. I previously held a Medical Research Council Health of the Public Research Fellowship (2005-09) which funded work on the role of time perspective in socio-economic inequalities in health behaviours.

I edit the Fuse Open Science blog.

Roles and responsibilities

Qualifications

  • PGCert, Practical Science Communication (distinction), University of the West of England, 2012
  • MSc, Psychology and Health (distinction), City University London, 2007
  • PhD, Epidemiology and Public Health, Newcastle University, 2004
  • MBBS, Medicine (distinction), Newcastle University, 2001
  • BMedSci, Health Psychology and Psychiatry (2:i), Newcastle University 1998 

Previous positions

  • Lecturer in Public Health (2008-12)
  • MRC Special Training Fellow (2005-09)
  • Visiting Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA (2005)
  • Research Associate (2004-05) 

Honours and awards

  • British Science Association Media Fellow (The Times), 2010
  • Royal Society of Medicine, Young Epidemiologist Prize, 2005
  • Daily Telegraph/BASF Science Writer Awards, High Commendation, 2002 and 2004 

 

Undergraduate teaching

  • MBBS lecturer
  • MBBS stage 4 student selected component supervisor

Postgraduate teaching

  • MSc Public Health & Health Services Research, module lead "Introduction to Quantitative Methods"
  • MSc Public Health & Health Services Research, seminar lead
  • MSc Public Health & Health Services Research, dissertation supervisor

 

 

Research interests

My research interests are in socio-economic inequalities in health behaviours, and food policy.

Research roles

I currently hold a Career Development Fellowship funded by the National Institute of Health Research (2012-2015). I am principle and co-investigator on a number of other projects. 

Postgraduate supervision

I am currently superivising four PhD students.

Funding 

2012-14        Parental incentives and quasi-mandatory schemes for increasing uptake of immunisations in pre-school children. NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme. £275,419. Principle investigator, with B Bateman, T Creswell, L Ternant, B Gardner-Sood, S Michie, J Shucksmith & FF Sniehotta.

2011-15        Financial incentives for improving uptake of health promoting behaviours.  NIHR Career Development Award.  £445,474.  Personal award. 

2011-13        Do socio-economic differences in perceptions of risks to health contribute to socio-economic differences in health-promoting behaviours?  British Medical Association.  £34,980.  Co-principle investigator with E Milne, C Jagger & D Nettle.

2011             Research to support the evaluation and implementation of adult cooking skills interventions in the UK.  Public Health Research Consortium.  £24,636.  Co-investigator with M White & AJ Adamson.

2011-14        Outreach programmes for health improvement of traveller communities: a pluralistic synthesis of evidence.  NIHR Public Health Research Programme.  £329,179.  Co-investigator, with S Carr, A Bancroft, L Geddes, M Lhussier, S Michie & M Pennington.

2010-13        Evaluation of the ‘Change4Life’ convenience store programme to promote sales and consumption of fruit and vegetables.  NIHR Public Health Research Programme.  £1,407,206.  Co-investigator, with M White, AJ Adamson, G Cairns, S Cummins, C Donaldson, A Findlay, A Lake, S Macintyre, M Petticrew, V Ryan, L Sparks & M Stead.  N.B. This grant was withdrawn after award due to changes in circumstances making the project unfeasible (final value awarded: £79,380).

2010-12        Evaluation of the School Sport Partnership Dance Mat Scheme in Redcar & Cleveland and Middlesbrough: The "IDEAS" study (Impact of Dance Exercise Activity in Schools) North Tees Primary Care Trust.  £91,312.  Co-investigator with A Batterham, L Azevedo, C Lock, and D Burges Watson.

2009             The new TV diet – evaluating the effect of the UK 2007 OfCom restrictions on television food advertising to children.  National Prevention Research Initiative.   £92,198.  Principle investigator with M White and AJ Adamson.

2005-09        MRC Special Training Fellowship in Health Services and Health of the Public Research.  £157,565.  Personal award.

2001-04        Faculty of Public Health Medicine and BUPA Joint Research Fellowship.    £42,500.  Personal award.

Projects