Established in 2013, the Prevention research group is led by Prof. Simon Griffin. It focuses on the prevention of the growing burden of common chronic conditions in which primary care plays a central role in the diagnosis and management, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Reducing this burden necessitates a balance of individual and collective approaches, from for example intensive medical treatment of patients at high risk, through screening for undiagnosed disease, to changes in transport or fiscal policy affecting the majority of the population (see figure below for diabetes as an example).

(A representation of the range of individual and population-level approaches to the prevention of type 2 diabetes and its complications)

The group is supported by a mix of MRC programme funding (Prof Griffin has also led the Prevention of Diabetes and Related Metabolic Disorders group in the MRC Epidemiology Unit since 2005) and external funding (for example NIHR and Wellcome Trust).

Prevention research

We have established a multidisciplinary programme of observational and experimental studies regarding the most appropriate and efficient distribution of scarce preventive resources across this spectrum. The work of the group focuses more on the individual approaches in keeping with the role of primary care. It is characterised by meticulous phenotyping of participants (in particular precise measurement of behaviours), identification of modifiable determinants of behaviour and other risk factors for disease, prudent development of interventions informed by behavioural science theory, nesting of trials within well characterised cohorts, and extended follow-up to enable assessment of important clinical endpoints.

A full list of staff is available here