About
Leo has worked as a statistician at the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre since 2013. He studied Mathematical Sciences at the University of Bath and then an MSc in Statistics at the University of Warwick.
His research focus is on the lifecourse epidemiology of musculoskeletal ageing. This involves implementing statistical methods to explore determinants and health-related consequences of poor or declining musculoskeletal health in older age. Other research areas include: exploring determinants of bone microarchitecture in the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis in Women; understanding risk factors for low physical performance, sarcopenia and osteoporosis in the Hertfordshire Cohort Study and the 1946 British Birth Cohort; and implementing complex statistical techniques to analyse change over multiple time-points.
His role also involves teaching within the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine and disseminating research findings at national and international conferences.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Lifecourse epidemiology
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Medical statistics
- Ageing
- Multilevel modelling
Current research
Southampton Longitudinal Study of Ageing
This study explores musculoskeletal health among older adults in Southampton during the Covid-19 pandemic and examines the impact of Covid-19 infections on important clinical outcomes such as falls and fractures.
Application of machine learning to computed tomography images to improve prediction of clinical outcomes
This international collaboration involves machine learning techniques to extract information from medical images of the tibia, radius, knee and spine. The aim is to explore whether these methods improve prediction of outcomes such as fractures compared to methods currently in use.
Role of epigenetic age acceleration in future musculoskeletal ageing
The project examines the relationship between measures of epigenetic age acceleration and parameters relating to musculoskeletal health such as grip strength, muscle mass, gait speed and bone mineral density.
Publications
Teaching
Since 2017, Leo has taught Understanding Basic Statistics 1 (MEDI2038 BM4 Y1 Foundations of Medicine), Understanding Basic Statistics 2 (MEDI2038 BM4 Y1 Foundations of Medicine) and Statistics and Presentation Development (Foundation Course in Clinical Research). Since 2016, he has co-led the Statistical Genetics MSc module (MATH6068). He co-leads the Faculty of Medicine BM5 Project Statistics Support Module. He offers his statistical expertise during additional drop-in sessions for students on the following MSc courses: Allergy, Diabetes Best Practice and Genomic Medicine. He has successfully supervised five projects for the MSc in Statistics with Applications in Medicine.
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Prizes
- Poster/abstract prize (2021)
- ESCEO-IOF Young Investigator Award (2021)
- Poster/abstract prize (2021)
- ESCEO-IOF Young Investigator Award (2021)