Dr Daniel Jones
Welsh Clinical Academic Fellow
- jonesdp5@cardiff.ac.uk
- Neuadd Meirionnydd, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff, CF14 4YS
Overview
I am a Welsh Clinical Academic Fellow in the Division of Population Medicine with a focus on Health in All Policies Research using mixed methods. My current work focuses on investigating the effects of Cultural Participation on population health using routine data epidemiology. I have extensive research experience with several first author publications, my previous research has involved laboratory work, big data, Mendelian Randomization, and clinical epidemiology.
I'm also a medical doctor, specialising in public health medicine with Public Health Wales. I also teach and assess medical undergraduates and and am currently learning Welsh. In addition, I hold a number of representative positions within the BMA on behalf of junior doctors and public health trainees. Finally, I love reading, running, and exploring the Welsh countryside and coast.
Biography
Cardiff University Medical Statistics & Epidemiology Group [Aug 2021 to Present]
Currently, as part of my Welsh Clinical Academic Fellowship, I am leading research on the potential for promotion of and investment in cultural participation as a means of improving public health. This research combines multivariable regression analysis of cross-sectional cultural and health data from the National Survey of Wales, and panel regression analysis of cultural spending and life expectancy data from Welsh local authorities.
This work has featured stakeholder involvement with various Welsh cultural bodies, such as CADW and Welsh Government, and public involvement using Health & Care Research Wales’s Early Involvement Funding scheme. The dissemination plan features stakeholder engagement work and will include a peer-reviewed publication (to be submitted to the Bulletin of the WHO), presentation at academic and policy-based conferences, and policy briefings delivered to relevant stakeholders and policymakers.
Public Health Wales Research & Evaluation Division [Sep 2020 to Aug 2021]I performed a scoping review exploring the emergence of vulnerability and the third sector response to this during the Covid-19 pandemic in Wales. This helped secure internal funding to deliver a qualitative research project aimed at generating recommendations to improve the future resilience of vulnerable groups and communities, involving third sector organisations across Wales. Under the supervision of Professor Alisha Davies, I conducted part of the data collection, specifically facilitating focus groups, and also contributed to data analysis where I applied thematic analysis to focus group and semi-structured interview transcripts. I co-authored the report (published by Public Health Wales) and presented the findings to two Public Health Wales conferences. The work has also been published as a feature piece by EuroHealth magazine.
University of Bristol Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group [Aug 2018 to Aug 2020]I conducted genetic epidemiology work investigating links between smoking and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using Mendelian Randomisation (MR) techniques in large publicly available data sets taken from genetic studies and the UK Biobank. The results suggested that tobacco smoking does not play a role in the aetiology of IBD contrary to observational results. This led to a peer-reviewed publication, in Crohn’s and Colitis 360, for which I led the scientific writing as first and corresponding author. I also presented a poster at the National Foundation Doctor Conference.
In addition, I conceptualised and led a project where MR and mediation techniques were used to explore the links between education, mental health, and cardiovascular disease. I performed the data analysis using complex, large-scale, publicly available secondary data and produced a publication in the Journal of the American Heart Association, leading as first and corresponding author.
Channon Group, University of Oxford [June 2014 to July 2017] During a vacation studentship with the British Heart Foundation, I supported the delivery of a project investigating the role of macrophages in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. I contributed to data collection and analysis on ongoing lab-based histology and immunohistochemistry work as well as microscope imaging and statistical analyses. This led to a contributing authorship on an academic publication in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. Later, I co-authored two literature reviews on animal models of cardiovascular disease that were both published in academic journals.
Publications
2021
- Jones, D. P., Wootton, R. E., Gill, D., Carter, A. R., Gunnell, D., Munafo, M. R. and Sallis, H. M. 2021. Mental health as a mediator of the association between educational inequality and cardiovascular disease: a mendelian randomization study. Journal of the American Heart Association Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease 10(17), article number: e019340. (10.1161/JAHA.120.019340)
- Willatt, A., Jones, D. P., Kyle, R. G. and Davies, A. R. 2021. Emerging drivers of vulnerability to health inequity in the context of COVID-19. Public Health Wales. Available at: https://phw.nhs.wales/news/new-research-captures-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-vulnerability-and-the-voluntary-and-community-sectors-rapid-supportive-response/
2020
- EuroSurg Collaborative, . and Jones, D. 2020. Timing of nasogastric tube insertion and the risk of postoperative pneumonia: an international, prospective cohort study.. Colorectal Disease 22(12), pp. 2288-2297. (10.1111/codi.15311)
- EuroSurg Collaborative, . and Jones, D. 2020. Safety of hospital discharge before return of bowel function after elective colorectal surgery.. British Journal of Surgery 107(5), pp. 552-559. (10.1002/bjs.11422)
- Jones, D. P., Richardson, T. G., Davey Smith, G., Gunnell, D., Munafo, M. R. and Wootton, R. E. 2020. Exploring the effects of cigarette smoking on inflammatory bowel disease using Mendelian randomisation. Crohn's and Colitis 360 2(1), article number: otaa018. (10.1093/crocol/otaa018)
- EuroSurg Collaborative, . and Jones, D. 2020. Safety and efficacy of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs to reduce ileus after colorectal surgery.. British Journal of Surgery 107(2), pp. e161-e169. (10.1002/bjs.11326)
2019
- Tsakok, M. T., Jones, D., MacNeill, A. and Gleeson, F. V. 2019. Is microwave ablation more effective than radiofrequency ablation in achieving local control for primary pulmonary malignancy?. Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery 29(2), pp. 283-286. (10.1093/icvts/ivz044)
2018
- Jones, D. P. and Patel, J. 2018. Therapeutic approaches targeting inflammation in cardiovascular disorders. Biology 7(4), article number: 49. (10.3390/biology7040049)
- Jones, D. P. and Patel, J. 2018. Therapeutic approaches targeting inflammation in cardiovascular disorders.. Biology 7(4), article number: 49. (10.3390/biology7040049)
2017
- Jones, D. P., True, H. D. and Patel, J. 2017. Leukocyte trafficking in cardiovascular disease: insights from experimental models. Mediators of Inflammation 2017, article number: 9746169. (10.1155/2017/9746169)
- McNeill, E. et al. 2017. Tracking monocyte recruitment and macrophage accumulation in atherosclerotic plaque progression using a novel hCD68GFP/ApoE -/- reporter mouse - Brief report.. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 37(2), pp. 258-263. (10.1161/ATVBAHA.116.308367)
Teaching
I currently act as a facilitator in evidence based medicine and literature review for the Cardiff University Medical Undergraduate course, including tutoring in student selected components. I am also an assessor for undergraduate medical interviews.