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Prior to joining the University of Salford in June 2012, Penny was a Reader in Public Health Epidemiology at Liverpool John Moores University’s Centre for Public Health, researching in sexual health and alcohol harm. Recent projects included an investigation of the public's attitude to alcohol, ‘the Big Drink Debate’, which attracted the opinions of nearly 30,000 people. She is currently carrying out a study that uses non-invasive blood tests to screen for alcohol-related liver damage in primary care and workplaces. Penny is particularly interested in the overlap between alcohol and sexual health, and has carried out Department of Health funded research on the overlap between population-level indicators of alcohol use, teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in teenagers. Sexual health projects have included managing regional surveillance of HIV, and used data from this system to demonstrate inequalities in health and healthcare in people with HIV. She has evaluated the impact of a pilot sex and relationships education programme in schools, evaluated a programme of dual testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in young people, and carried out many sexual health needs assessments and service evaluations. She has also carried out research contributing to the National Centre for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance on HIV and sexual health

Experience

  • 2013–2016
    Professor in Public Health, University of Salford
  • 2012–2013
    Senior Lecturer in Public Health, University of Salford
  • 2007–2012
    Reader in Public Health Epidemiology, Liverpool John Moores University