Newcastle University

Introduction

I joined Newcastle University in 2002 as an RA working on the European Diabetes Prevention Study RCT,(EDIPD-Newcastle) which was a co-ordinated study following from the landmark Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study. The EDIPS-Newcastle trial completed in 2007 and we are continuing to develop our collaboration with the other European Centres. It is ten years since we first recruited participants to this trial in Newcastle and we are now starting a follow-up study. This will be in line with ongoing follow-up studies in the other two European centres in Helsinki, Finland and Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Using experience from the succesful EDIPS-Newcastle RCT, we are now contributing to the design and evaluating a  pragmatic diabetes prevention intervention pilot, called 'New life, New you' that is delivered by fitness trainers and conducted in leisure and community settings in East and Central Middlesbrough. The programme has been developed with a social marketing element and is now recruiting a third cohort. Interim results are promising and we are seeking to evaluate the behavioural change, techniques and underpinning theoretical basis to better understand the processes involved in the intervention and the impact on working practice of the delivery staff.

I am also working on a project developing a  computer based shared decision making tool for cardio-vascular risk communication. This tool is being piloted in Primary Care practices in South of Tyne and Wear PCT. This project is particularly topical in view of the NHS Vascular Checks programme.

I am appointed to the NICE type 2 diabetesprevention Programme Development Group to consider evidence and develop guidelines for prevention of type 2 diabetes in adult individuals at high risk of type 2 diabetes 

Qualifications

BSc (2.i)Physiology and Biochemistry with Subsidiary Chemistry (University of Reading)
PGCE (University of Lancaster)
MSc (merit)Health Sciences (Newcastle University)

Memberships

EASD, Diabetes-UK, SSM

Research Interests

My main research interest centres on prevention of type 2 diabetes by lifestyle intervention. Recently this has been extended to include shared decision making and risk communication in cardiovascular disease.

Current Work

I am working on the development and evaluation of a diabetes prevention pilot, calle 'New life, New you' that is being delivered by health and fitness trainers in leisure and community settings in East and Central Middlesbrough. The project includes a social marketing element which adds a further dimension to the evaluation. The first cohort of participants have already completed one year in the programme and there are two further cohorts. The interim results

Future Research

We have plans for exploratory aanalysis of the European Diabetes Prevention Study (EDIPS) combined data set in collaboration with European colleagues and we have recently submitted a funding proposal for a follow up study to the Newcastle arm of EDIPS. We have also contributed to a diabetes risk prediction study in association with Tethys Bioscience in California.

Research Roles

I was the trial manager for EDIPS-Newcastle.  With in the New life, New you project I am responsible for developing an evaluation procedure that is appropriate and achievable with in the community settind and for collating and analysing the data.
In my role within NuGO I have contributed to the organisation of several European workshops including 'Diet and Cancer' (Barcelona 2008, Nutrigenomics and Human Studies (Potsdam 2008)Novel methods for Assessment of Dietary Intake (Montecatini 2009).

Esteem Indicators

I presented the work on 'Participant perceptions' from the qualitative study nested in the EDIPS-Newcastle trial at the World Conference for the Prevention of Diabetes (WCPD) in 2008. I have been invited to submit a chapter for the 'Diabetes Prevention in Practice' book that is being published for this year's WCPD.
I presented the Annual Review for the NuGO Work Package 'Protocols and Procedures' that is co-ordinated from Newcastle to DG-Research in Brussels in April 2009.

• Penn L, White M, Oldroyd J, Walker M, Alberti KGMM, Mathers JC. Prevention of type 2 diabetes in adults with impaired glucose tolerance: the European Diabetes Prevention RCT in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. BMC Public Health 2009,9 342.
• Penn L, Boeing H, Boushey CJ, Dragsted LO, Kaput J, Scalbert A, Welch AA, Mathers JC. Assessment of dietary intake: NuGO symposium report. Genes & Nutrition 2010. 233 SPRING ST, NEW YORK, NY 10013 USA:SPRINGER,5 3 205-213.
• Penn LD, Moffatt SM, White M. Participants' perspective on maintaining behaviour change: A qualitative study within the European Diabetes Prevention Study. BMC Public Health 2008, 8(1), 235.
• Thomson RG, Beyer F, Colquhoun J, Critchley J, Eccles M, Faye M, Lambert M, van Moorsel A, Penn L, Prentice M, Sugden B, Wood V. Development and usability testing of a shared decision support tool for cardiovascular risk reduction in primary care. In: 6th International Shared Decision Making Conference. 2011, Maastricht, Netherlands.