Dr. Laurie Twells

Email: ltwells@mun.ca

Phone: 709 777 8920

Office: H3445

Position(s):

Assistant Professor
Joint appointment with Faculty of Medicine

University Education

1992 BA Economics - Memorial University of Newfoundland
2000 MSc Epidemiology and Health Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK)
2008 –PhD Clinical Epidemiology, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Research Interests

Prevention, management and treatment of adult and childhood obesity
Bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity
Infant feeding in Newfoundland and Labrador
Health systems research
Health policy
Quantitative analysis

Professional Affiliations

Canadian Public Health Association
NL Public Health Association
NL Provincial Breastfeeding Coalition
NL Breastfeeding Coalition Research Group- Chair
The Canadian Obesity Network
The Obesity Society (US)

Media

Study uncovers low awareness of the health risks of obesity (January 2011 - MUN Today)

Vita

Biography
Curriculum Vitae

Current Teaching

Pharmacy 3501 Research and Evaluation I
Pharmacy 4501 Research and Evaluation II
Pharmacy 4502 Research and Evaluation III
Medicine 6250 Clinical Epidemiology
Medicine 6255 Research and Design
Medicine 6260 Applied Biostatistics

Selected Publications

Infant Feeding, Maternal and Child Health

Twells L, Newhook L. "Can exclusive breastfeeding help to reduce the disturbing trend of childhood obesity occurring in some regions of Canada?" in Canadian Journal of Public Health 2010;101(1):36-9.

Twells L, Newhook L, Ludlow V. (2011, In Press) "Does Breastfeeding reduce the risk of Childhood Obesity?" in Childhood Obesity, In-tech publishing.

Ludlow V, Newhook L, Temple Newhook J, Bonia K, Murphy Goodridge J, Twells L. (Accepted). "Formula Feeding Mothers Provide Insight into how Infant Feeding Decisions are Made" in Health Risk and Society.

Newhook LA, Sloka S, Grant M, Randell E, Kovacs C, Twells L. "Vitamin D insufficiency common in newborns, children, and pregnant women living in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada" in Journal of Maternal and Child Nutrition, 2009.

Obesity

Twells LK, Bridger T, Knight JC, Alaghehbandan R, Barrett B. "Obesity predicts primary health care visits: a cohort study" in Population Health Management 2011; doi:10.1089/pop.2010.0081

Twells LK, Newhook LA. "Obesity prevalence estimates in a Canadian regional population of preschool children using variant growth references" in BMC Pediatrics 2011:11:21

Twells L, Knight J, Alaghehbandan R. "The relationship among body mass index, subjective reporting of chronic disease and the use of health care services in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada" in Population Health Management 2010;13(1).

Pharmacy

Bader M, Hawboldt J, Twells L. "Risk Factors of Cellulitis Treatment Failure with Once-daily Intravenous Cefazolin plus Oral Probenecid" in Southern Medical Journal 2011; 104(12):789-93.

Young S, Bishop L, Twells L, Dillon C, Hawboldt J, O'Shea P. "Comparison of Pharmacist Managed Anticoagulation with Usual Care in a Family Medicine Clinic" in BMC Family Practice 2011, 12:88doi:10.1186/1471-2296-12-88.

Health Care Restructuring

Twells L, Doyle M, Gregory D, Barrett B, Parfrey P. "Acute care restructuring in Newfoundland: the history and impact on costs" in Journal of Health Services Research and Policy 2005;10(Suppl 2):4-11.

Way C, Gregory D, Doyle M, Twells L, Barrett B, Parfrey P. "Acute Care Restructuring in Newfoundland and Labrador: Impact of Hospital Aggregation on Health Care Provider Outcomes" in Journal of Health Services Research and Policy 2005;10(Suppl 2):58-67.