معرفی
Dr. Barbara Jefferis is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at University College London's Department of Primary Care & Population Health within the Faculty of Population Health Sciences. She leads the UCL Physical Activity Research Group (PARG), which serves as a bridge between diverse research groups to stimulate high-quality research on physical activity and healthy aging.
Dr. Jefferis completed her academic training with a BA in Human Sciences from the University of Oxford (1998), followed by an MSc from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (1999), and a PhD in lifecourse epidemiology from UCL (2007), funded by an MRC Fellowship. She joined UCL in 1999 and has held various research positions including an NIHR post-doctoral fellowship. She was appointed as a Lecturer in December 2014 and promoted to Associate Professor in October 2017.
Her research specializes in physical activity epidemiology with a focus on older adults, investigating patterns and trajectories of physical activity and sedentary behavior across the lifespan. She has led the design, implementation, and analysis of objectively measured physical activity in major prospective cohort studies including the British Regional Heart Study and British Women's Heart Health Study. Her work examines relationships between physical activity and cardiovascular health, biomarkers of cardiovascular risk, and aging syndromes such as sarcopenia and falls. Her research has significantly contributed to evidence-based physical activity guidelines worldwide.
Dr. Jefferis's recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on dose-response relationships between physical activity (particularly step counts) and health outcomes, with numerous high-impact meta-analyses involving international cohorts. Her research spans epidemiology, public health, cardiology, and neuroscience, with particular focus on how physical activity patterns affect cardiovascular disease, mortality, and cognitive function across the lifespan. Her 2022 meta-analysis on daily steps and mortality has received over 400 citations, highlighting the significant impact of her work.
- NIHR Fellowship: The Health Effects of Physical Activity in Older Adults (2011-2014)
- MRC Fellowship for PhD work
- ESRC Advanced Course Studentship (1998-1999)
- Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2016)
Dr. Jefferis actively supervises PhD and Master's students and has extensive teaching experience with undergraduates (MBBS Year 2 Vertical Modules and BSc Population Health). She has collaborated on behavioral interventions to increase physical activity in older adults and has participated in large genetic consortia studying cardiovascular disease etiology. As leader of the UCL Physical Activity Research Group, she connects researchers across disciplines to advance physical activity research and promote healthy aging strategies globally.
