Skip to main content

Staff profile

Overview

Professor Carolyn Summerbell

Professor

Affiliations
AffiliationTelephone
Professor in the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Fellow of the Durham Research Methods Centre
Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing
Professor of Nutrition in the Durham CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences)

Biography

Professor Carolyn Summerbell's research expertise is in the area of child public health, with a focus on physical activity and diet. Much of this research focuses on interventions for the prevention of childhood obesity and health inequalities. Her research is framed within a complex and adaptive whole systems approach. The methodological tools which she uses include the Cochrane Collaboration methods for systematic reviewing controlled studies alongside those designed for reviewing other types of studies which she has helped develop. Carolyn is currently supporting the work of the Cochrane Equity Methods Group to develop a tool to operationalise equity considerations in reviews.  When adapting or designing new interventions, or assessing the impact of ongoing public health initiatives, Carolyn uses The MRC framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions.

Prof. Summerbell's research focuses on three areas of enquiry. First, the collation of evidence for physical activity and diet behaviour change interventions which aim to prevent childhood obesity, and the dissemination and translation of this evidence into policy and practice. Second, the development and evaluation of physical activity and diet interventions using multi-level system approaches to improve child health. Third, understanding the complex nature of the child health system, and identifying opportunities for change to parts of the integrated system that will improve child health outcomes. Carolyn works with policy makers, practitioners, NICE and NGOs, local authorities and the public. The need to assess and reduce health inequalities underpins this programme of work.

Professor Summerbell is the Deputy Director of Fuse, The Centre for Translational Research in Public Health. This research centre is a member of the School for Public Health Research (SPHR) which is funded by the National Institute for Public Health Research (NIHR) in England, UK. Carolyn's current portfolio of research includes funding from NIHR and SPHR. Professor Summerbell was a member of the Research Funding Board of the NIHR Public Health Research Programme from it’s inception to 2013, and is currently a member of the NIHR SPHR Executive. Carolyn has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed research papers and 20 Cochrane reviews. She has successfully supervised 23 PhD students to completion. She is a Trustee and the Secretary of the Association for the Study of Obesity and is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Obesity and Child and Adolescent Obesity.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1910-9383

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=wLYAECgAAAAJ&hl=en

Research interests

  • 1. The collation of evidence for the prevention of obesity in children.
  • 2. Dissemination and translation of evidence for the prevention of obesity in children into policy and practice.
  • 3. The development of community-based interventions to prevent childhood obesity.
  • 1-3 In all of the above, particular interest in health inequalities.
  • 4. The development of tools to assess dietary intake and physical activity levels at a population level.

Publications

Edited book

Journal Article

Other (Print)

Report

Supervision students

Rita Rizk

Research Student