Professor Helen Colhoun
Since September 2007 Helen Colhoun has been a tenured Professor of Public Health at the University of Dundee, Scotland UK and Honorary Consultant in Public Health NHS Fife. She previously held full tenure professorial posts at the University College London, UK and University College Dublin Ireland.
Professor Colhoun is an internationally acknowledged expert in her field. This is illustrated by the following current and past activities and key achievements;
- Over 80 peer reviewed publications the most cited of which is Colhoun HM et al. Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with atorvastatin in type 2 diabetes in the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study (CARDS): multicentre randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2004 Aug 21-27;364(9435):685-96.with over 850 citations.
- Current research funding over £10 million
- Current editorial Board member of Europe's leading Diabetes journal: Diabetologia
- Membership of prestigious funding body committees and policy panels. For example she currently sits on the Wellcome Trust Study Design Expert Panel, the Wellcome Trust Cohorts Access Committee and is a panel member of the UK Diabetes Research Network Clinical Studies Advisory Group. She has been a panel member for JDRF, EASD, Diabetes UK and Academy of Finland and the Alliance for European Diabetes Research EURADIA DIAMAP programme. She is currently chairing the SCOT Public Health Network group that has been asked to make recommendations to the Scottish Government on a national diabetes screening programme.
- Frequent invitations to speak and present at International Meetings: recent and forthcoming examples are the International Symposium on Pre-diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome, Nice April 09 and the Critical markers of Disease 7th Annual Symposium on Biomarkers and Surrogate Endpoints. Bethesda Oct09.
Professor Colhoun's major research interest is large scale epidemiologic studies, including clinical trials, of diabetes and its complications. Her current research funding is in excess of £10 million. Her research programme includes
- Large-scale genetic epidemiology studies.
- Discovery and validation studies for biomarkers of diabetic complications.
- Developing new clinical trials in diabetes patients.
- Studies that utilise large scale national datasets to explore diabetes epidemiology including the detection of unexpected adverse and beneficial drug effects.
Professor Colhoun has an established track record of productive collaboration with the pharmaceutical sector. Of note she was the principal investigator of the part Pfizer funded Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study trial that resulted in a major change to international guidelines on lipid lowering in diabetes. She has previously participated in advisory board panels for Pfizer Ltd pertaining to cardiovascular disease, atorvastatin and torcetrapib.
Publications
Recent Journal Articles
- Vella S, Buetow L, Royle P, Livingstone S, Colhoun HM, Petrie JR. The use of metformin in type 1 diabetes: a systematic review of efficacy. Diabetologia. 2010 May;53(5):809-20. Epub 2010 Jan 8.
- Colhoun HM; SDRN Epidemiology Group. Use of insulin glargine and cancer incidence in Scotland: a study from the Scottish Diabetes Research Network Epidemiology Group. Diabetologia. 2009 Sep;52(9):1755-65.
- Colhoun HM, Betteridge DJ, Durrington PN, Hitman GA, Neil HA, Livingstone SJ, Charlton-Menys V, Demicco DA, Fuller JH; CARDS Investigators. Effects of Atorvastatin on Kidney Outcomes and Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Diabetes: An Analysis From the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study CARDS. Am J Kidney Dis. 2009 Jun 18.
- Charlton-Menys V, Betteridge DJ, Colhoun H, Fuller J, France M, Hitman GA, Livingstone SJ, Neil HA, Newman CB, Szarek M, DeMicco DA, Durrington PN. Targets of statin therapy: LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B in type 2 diabetes in the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study (CARDS). ClinChem. 2009 Mar;55(3):473-80.
- Charlton-Menys V, Betteridge DJ, Colhoun H, Fuller J, France M, Hitman GA,Livingstone SJ, Neil HA, Newman CB, Szarek M, DeMicco DA, Durrington PN.Apolipoproteins, cardiovascular risk and statin response in type 2 diabetes: the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes Study (CARDS). Diabetologia. 2009Feb;52(2):218-25.