Lecturer in Epidemiology

Email: john.kearney@tudublin.ie

Tel: (01) 220 5521

Biography

Dr. John Kearney completed his PhD in 1990 in the laboratory of Professor Michael Gibney, Division of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College Dublin. He subsequently moved to Boston to work with Professor Walter Willett, Harvard School of Public Health, exploring the dietary factors related to colon cancer in men from the Health Professional Follow-up Cohort having received a Diploma in Epidemiology and Biostatistics in McGill University, Montreal. He then returned to Trinity College in 1995 and was appointed Scientific Director of the Institute of European Food Studies (IEFS) a campus company involved in a European nutrition and food research. Since June 2001 he has been a lecturer in DIT in the School of Biological Sciences.

Qualifications

BSc (Agr), Dip. Epi and Biostatistics, PhD (Clinical Nutrition), AfN (Public Health Nutrition)

Research Themes

Public Health Nutrition

Keywords

Breastfeeding, weaning, food and nutrition security and sustainability, consumer attitudes

Key Publications

Bennett, A.E., McCartney, D., Kearney, JM. (2016). Views of fathers in Ireland on the experience and challenges of having a breast-feeding partner. Midwifery 40, 169-176.
Whelan B & Kearney JM (2015) Breast-feeding support in Ireland: a qualitative study of health-care professionals’ and women’s views. Public Health Nutrition 18(12), 2274-2282.
Tarrant RC, Younger KM, Sheridan-Pereira M, White MJ & Kearney JM (2010) The prevalence and determinants of breastfeeding initiation and duration in a sample of women in Ireland. Public Health Nutrition (June) 13(6): 760-770.
Nea FM, Kearney J, Livingstone MBE, Pourshahidi LK & Corish CA (2015) Dietary and lifestyle habits and the associated health risks in shift workers. Nutrition Research Reviews 28(2), 143-166.
Kearney J. Food Consumption Trends and Drivers. (2010) Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences 365(1554):2793-807.
Kearney J, Giovannucci E, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Ascherio A, Wing A, Kampman E, Willett W. (1996) Calcium, Vitamin D, and Dairy Foods and the Occurrence of Colon Cancer in Men American Journal of Epidemiology 143(9):907-17.

Professional Memberships'

• Member of the Nutrition Society
• AfN (Public Health Nutrition) – Distinguished member
• Member of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)

External Activities/Outreach

• Evaluator and Expert to DG Research and DG Sanco of the European Commission regarding nutritional epidemiology and food policy development. (See statement for details)
• Associate Editor for Journal – Public Health Nutrition (May 2016 – present)

Research and Academic Interests

His research in public health nutrition has explored health behaviours in population sub-groups, including analyses of dietary behaviour and attitudes in the national diet surveys of the adult and older population in Ireland. He has also been involved in research around teenagers (as part of the European heart study), infancy (weaning practices) and pre-schoolers looking at the preschool setting in terms of the provision of appropriate diet and physical activity by the providers. He is also currently involved a study of the health behaviours (diet and physical activity) of shift-workers in a nationally representative sample from the island of Ireland.
SafeFood– UCD led study with partners: University of Ulster (UU) and DIT - “Why are adults giving food treats to children?” Budget: 157,878 Euros for 12 months (DIT –2,248 Euros). My involvement was in the design of the mixed methods study and I will be involved in the data analyses. Commencement date January 2017. Co-applicant
Funding received from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) – FIRM proposal – “The National Children’s Food Survey II (NCFS II). Commencement date January 2017. In collaboration with UCD and the lead partner UCC. Budget: 1.242 million Euros of which 118,000 euros for DIT (Task 12). My specific involvement in this grant was in the writing of Work Tasks 12 (Food Choice and Eating behaviours) for which I will have sole responsibility in delivering. Co-applicant
Author of a Chapter “Food and Nutrient Patterns” John Kearney and Gerda Pot. In Text book: Human Nutrition 13th edition (eds): Catherine Geissler and Hilary Powers. Publishers: Oxford University Press; 13ev Ed edition. 2017. Updated and rewritten 13th edition – In Press (April: 2017).

Co-editor for the New edition (a complete revision) of Public Health Nutrition (The Nutrition Society Textbook). Editors: Susan Lanham-New, Judy Butriss, John Kearney, and Ailsa Welshe. Publisher Wiley Blackwell. 2017. In Press: Publication Date and Launch in the Royal Society, Carlton House, London. May 18th 2017.

Book Chapter: “Maternal Nutrition in Ireland: Issues of Public Health Concern” J. Kearney and L. O’Sullivan. In: Diet, Nutrition, and Fetal Programming from the Womb to Adulthood. (Two Volumes). (eds) Patel, VB, Preedy VR, Rajendram R. Publisher Springer Science and Business Media. (In Press: Publication Date – July 2017).

He has supervised 8 PhD’s students to completion and is currently supervising 4 PhD students. This research has mainly focussed on infancy (breastfeeding and weaning) and childhood nutrition (preschool and school). This research has mainly focussed on infancy (breastfeeding and weaning) and childhood nutrition (preschool and school).