Lei Clifton
UK Biobank: from downloading data to extracting variables
Download Lei Clifton's step-by-step guide on the first steps of handling UK Biobank data.
View an introduction to how to use UKBiobank data on the Translational Epidemiology Unit webpage.
Research groups
Colleges
Lei Clifton
BSc, MSc, PhD
Senior Researcher
- Official Fellow in AI & Machine Learning, Reuben College
Statistical and machine learning expertise in epidemiology and clinical studies.
I joined the Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH) in 2019 as the team leader of the Translational Epidemiology Unit (TEU), under its Director Professor David Hunter. I lead a programme of research in translational cancer epidemiology. Key research includes assessing the performance of large-scale information on lifestyle and environment, assisting in development of exposure assessment instruments suitable for use at scale.
I manage specialist grant funded research projects, including the recruitment, supervision and operational management of a research group. I line manage other members of the team, contributing to their development through induction, appraisal, and coaching.
From 2014 - 2018, I worked for Prof Doug Altman in the Centre for Statistics in Medicine (CSM), where I lead statistical work on clinical trials, observational studies, and research on trial methodology. I was a senior advisor on the NIHR Research Design Service (RDS) team, which provides free advice on research design to researchers in the South Central region. I collaborated extensively with principle investigators in trial design and grant applications.
During my 5 years in CSM, I also provided statistical supervision in fellowship applications, taught statistics at the postgraduate level, and review grant proposals for the NIHR. I was a Scientific Research Committee (SRC) member of the Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke (NICHS), responsible for reviewing proposals and allocating research grants.
From 2009 - 2014, I worked in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, in the University of Oxford, where I undertook research into statistical time-series models for providing early warning of deterioration in post-surgery patients. From 2007-2009, I was a post-doctoral researcher in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, where I developed mathematical models and prototype apparatus for measuring the lung function of ICU patients.
I was awarded a PhD in Statistical Machine Learning in 2007 from UMIST (now the University of Manchester), after completing my BSc and MSc degrees in Electrical Engineering at the Beijing Institute of Technology, China. I joined CSM in 2014.
Joining CSM and then NDPH has been one of the best choices I have made in my life, as I thoroughly enjoy working with the team on epidemiology and other machine learning. When I am at home, you can find me painting watercolours, practising yoga, and making noise on the violin.
Recent publications
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Kidney function, albuminuria, and their modification by genetic factors and risk of incident dementia in UK Biobank.
Journal article
Yeh T-S. et al, (2023), Alzheimer's research & therapy, 15
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Independent external validation of the QRISK3 cardiovascular disease risk prediction model using UK Biobank.
Journal article
Parsons RE. et al, (2023), Heart (British Cardiac Society)
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Combining machine learning with Cox models to identify predictors for incident post-menopausal breast cancer in the UK Biobank.
Journal article
Liu X. et al, (2023), Scientific reports, 13
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Polygenic Risk of Prediabetes, Undiagnosed Diabetes, and Incident Type 2 Diabetes Stratified by Diabetes Risk Factors.
Journal article
Liu X. et al, (2023), Journal of the Endocrine Society, 7
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Incidence of fractures in people with intellectual disabilities over the life course: a retrospective matched cohort study.
Journal article
Frighi V. et al, (2022), EClinicalMedicine, 52