Dr Rute Vieira

Biography

I joined the Institute of Applied Health Sciences in May 2018 as a Lecturer in Medical Statistics and, since January 2019, I have a honorary contract with the Information Services Division of Public Health Scotland, to support the establishment of the Scottish Congenital Anomaly Register (CARDRISS) (2019-2021) and the collaborative doctoral project 'Impact of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) on pregnancy and postnatal outcomes of babies affected by Down’s syndrome in Scotland'.

Previously I was based at the Institute of Health and Society (IHS), Newcastle University, and had an honorary contract with Public Health England where I collaborated with the National Congenital Anomaly and Rare Disease Registration Service (NCARDRS). I also worked as a statistical advisor for the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals (NuTH), IHS research groups and Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit.

My primary research interests are related with the development and application of statistical methodologies to evaluate treatment effects in personalised medicine (including N-of-1 studies) and rare diseases. I am also interested in the epidemiology of congenital anomalies .

Prizes and Awards

Nominated to the University of Aberdeen Principal's Excellence Awards:

• Best Postgraduate Lecturer 2019-2020
• Best Postgraduate Lecturer 2021-2022
• Best Supervisor (Postgraduate Research - PhD) 2021-2022

Research Overview

My main research interests are:

• Statistical methods for observational and experimental studies in personalised medicine (including n-of-1 studies)
• Epidemiology of congenital anomalies

Current Research

Personalised medicine/behavioural medicine/nutrition (N-of-1):

• The individual clinical course of severe COVID-19: a series of n-of-1 studies.
• Determinants of adherence with weight loss and weight maintenance in the context of the Diabetes REmission Clinical Trial (DiRECT)
• Modelling individual responses to healthier diets (PhD supervisor)
• Quantifying the tea effect (PhD supervisor)
• Drivers and barriers for adopting healthy and sustainable food swaps in young adults (to start 04/2023)

Congenital anomalies:

• Prevalence and survival of children born with congenital anomalies in Scotland
• Impact of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) on pregnancy and postnatal outcomes of babies affected by Down’s syndrome in Scotland (PhD supervisor)

Other (miscellanneous):

• Understanding Symptom Experiences Fully (USEFULL) study
• Looking after the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic: a focus on addressing physical activity, loneliness, and help-seeking behaviour
• I am also a co-investigator in the UKMED88 project (Apr 2019 - Oct 2020): 'Investigating associations of post-graduate examination performance with socio-demographic characteristics, performance at medical school, medical school, SJT and foundation school: a focus on first stage examinations of MRCP, MRCGP and MRCPsych' led by Dr Isobel Cameron.

Funding and Grants

• 2023-2027: RQ5b Drivers and barriers for adopting healthy and sustainable food swaps in young adults (£915,093.13) - Scottish Government - Rural And Environment Research And Analysis Directorate (RESAS)). (Co-I, led by Prof Baukje de Roos - Rowett Institute) 
• 2021-2025: Impact of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) on pregnancy and postnatal outcomes of babies affected by Down’s syndrome in Scotland (£110,192 - Medical Research Scotland PhD Studentship and Public Health Scotland). (Principal Supervisor, 2nd Supervisors: Dr Sohinee Bhattacharya and Dr Rachael Wood (PHS)) 

Past:

• 2020: Understanding the individual clinical course of severe COVID-19: a series of n-of-1 studies (£11,670 - Medical Research Scotland COVID-19 Research Grant). (PI, Co-Is: Prof Siladitya Batthacharya and Dr Calum Kaye)
• 2020: Looking after the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic: a focus on addressing physical activity, loneliness, and help-seeking behaviour (£48,541 - Scottish Government CSO Rapid Research in Covid-19 programme). (Co-I, led by Dr Kathryn Martin)
• 2019-2020: The relationship between the UKCAT and overall performance across four UK dental schools - A multi-site study (£5,419 - UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT)). (PI)
• 2019-2020: Person-centred care: identifying clusters of multimorbidity in hospitalised patients (£9,749 - NHS Grampian Endowment Research Grants). (Co-I)
• 2010-2014: International PhD scholarship SFRH/BD/70050/2010 (103,000€), co-funded by the Portuguese Government and European Commission
• 2009-2013: National PhD scholarship SFRH/BD/63881/2009 (57,000€), funded by the Portuguese Government

Teaching Responsibilities

• Applied Statistics (PU5017) - 1^st semester (MSc level) - course coordinator and lecturer (2018 - present)
• Applied Statistics (PU5522) - 2^nd semester (MSc level) - lecturer (2018 - present)
• Understanding and Applying Regression Modelling (PU5559) - 2nd semester (MSc level) - lecturer (Unit: Poisson Regression) (2022 - present)
• CPD intermediate statistics course for staff - lecturer (2018 - 2019)
• Statistics course for PhD students - lecturer (2018 - present)

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

I am part of the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition Ethics Review Board for postgraduate studies (PGT SERB) since 2018 and the Institute of Applied Health Sciences Assessment Panel since 2019.

I am also a personal tutor of eight undergraduates and an advisor of two PhD students.