Faculty A-Z | Faculty of Medicine | Memorial University of Newfoundland

Laurie Twells

Professor and Associate Dean, B.A. Memorial, MSc, LSHTM, London, UK , Ph.D. Memorial

Division of Population Health and Applied Health Sciences

Phone:
709-864-2893

Email:
ltwells@mun.ca; phahs.assocdeanoffice@mun.ca

Address:
Faculty of Medicine, 4M103A

Dr. Laurie Twells MSc, PhD is a Full Professor and Associate Dean of the Division of Population Health and Applied Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University.

Dr. Twells is a clinical epidemiologist with expertise in the areas of: epidemiology, health economics, health systems, health policy and patient-oriented research. Dr. Twells held previous positions as the Scientific Director for the CIHR funded NL Support (Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research) Unit and Assistant Dean of Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine.

Dr. Twells is a founding member of the national Canadian Breastfeeding Research Network (CBRN), a collaborative initiative, with a goal to increase research capacity and advocacy in Canada related to the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding.

Research interests include: the epidemiology of obesity in Canada; prevention of childhood obesity; management and treatment of adult obesity including bariatric surgery as treatment modality; the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding including the implementation of the Baby Friendly Hospital (BFI) initiative and the expansion of midwifery in Newfoundland and Labrador; the relationship between preconception health and fertility; and women’s health and the prevention of chronic disease.

As a clinical epidemiologist, Dr. Twells’ research is interdisciplinary, collaborative and inclusive and involves working with health care professionals, decision-makers, knowledge users, patient partners and learners. She uses integrated Knowledge Translation approaches to mobilize knowledge and inform evidence-based practice and heath policy with the goal to improve health outcomes and ultimately people’s lives.

Current Teaching:

Clinical Epidemiology Diploma and Graduate Program: MED6250 (Clinical Epidemiology), MED6255 (Clinical Research and Design)

Selected Publications:

1 Donnan J, Huang R, Twells L. Patient Preferences for Attributes of Health Canada Approved Weight Loss Medications Among Adults Living with Obesity in Canada: A Qualitative Study. Patient Preference and Adherence. 2022 Apr 5; 16:911-923. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S350411.

2 Blackmore A, Howell B, Romme K, Gao Z, Nguyen H, Allwood Newhook LA, Twells L. The effectiveness of virtual lactation support: A systematic review and meta-analysis Journal of Human Lactation. 2022 Aug; 38(3):452-465. doi: 10.1177/08903344221099914.

3 Moga AM, Twells LK, Mayo NE. The prototype of a preference-based index of weight-related quality of life: demonstrating the possibilities. Quality of Life Research. 2022 Oct; 31(10):3061-3075. doi: 10.1007/s11136-022-03156-5.

4 Blackmore A, Etchegary H, Allwood-Newhook LA, Gao Z, Nguyen HV, Parsons-Mercer K, Twells L. The use of patient engagement to gather perceptions on the cost of infant feeding. Patient Related Outcome Measures. 2022 Nov 23; 13:239-247. doi: 10.2147/PROM.S366721.

5 Darmonkow G, Chafe R, Aslanova R, Hagerty D, Twells L, Barter OJ, Allwood Newhook LA. A Multi-Intervention Campaign Lowers Pediatric and Young Adult Diabetic Ketoacidosis Hospitalizations in a Canadian Province. Canadian Journal of Diabetes. 2021 Dec; 45(8):792-797. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2021.03.013.

6 Street C, Twells LK, Leamon T, Taylor L, Etchegary H. Changing Health-Related Behaviors 1: Patient-Oriented Research and Patient Engagement in Health Research. In: Parfrey PS, Barrett BJ, (eds). Clinical Epidemiology. Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol 2249. New York, NY: Humana; 2021. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1138-8_29

7 Twells L. Evidence-Based Decision-Making 1: Critical Appraisal In: Parfrey PS, Barrett BJ, (eds). Clinical Epidemiology. Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol 2249. New York, NY: Humana; 2021. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1138-8_21.

8 Twells LK, Harris Walsh K, Blackmore A, Adey T, Donnan J, Peddle J, Ryan D, Farrell A, Nguyen H, Gao Z, Pace D. Nonsurgical weight loss interventions: A systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Obesity Review. 2021 Nov; 22(11):e13320. doi: 10.1111/obr.13320.

9 Warren S, Midodzi WK, Allwood Newhook LA, Murphy P, Twells L. Effects of Delayed Newborn Bathing on Breastfeeding, Hypothermia, and Hypoglycemia. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing. 2020 Mar; 49(2):181-189. doi: 10.1016/j.jogn.2019.12.004

10 Taylor A, Chowdhury S, Gao Z, Van Nguyen H, Midodzi W, Gill N, Halfyard B, Newhook LAA, Twells L. Infant feeding mode predicts the costs of healthcare services in one region of Canada: a data linkage pilot study. BMC Research Notes. 2020 Aug 15; 13(1):385. doi: 10.1186/s13104-020-05228-6.

Full Publication List