Helen Coleman

I am a Senior Lecturer and Lead of the Cancer Epidemiology Research Group at the Centre for Public Health at Queen's University Belfast.

My research mostly focuses on the epidemiology of gastrointestinal cancers and pre-malignant conditions, particularly Barrett's oesophagus and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer.
In addition to mainstay interests in the role of modifiable risk factors (such as smoking, alcohol and nutrition) in cancer risk and progression, I have specialist interests in clinical epidemiology related to gastrointestinal pathology diagnosis trends and concordance, and molecular pathology epidemiology.

I have over 10 years of experience working with the Northern Ireland Barrett's register, which is housed within the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry. I have applied similar population-based registry methodology to study colorectal polyps and endometrial hyperplasia epidemiology. I have also conducted many systematic reviews of lifestyle factors and biomarkers in cancer risk and progression.

I place considerable emphasis on interdisciplinary research, and am affiliated to the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen's University Belfast. I have previously spent time conducting research at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA, Ulster University, and at the MRC-Human Nutrition Research centre in Cambridge, England. From 2018, I will be a Visiting Scientist with the Fitzgerald Lab at the MRC Cancer Unit, Cambridge, to further enhance interdisciplinary research efforts in oesophageal cancer as part of a Cancer Research UK funded Career Establishment Award.