Dr. Laurie Twells

Dr. Laurie Twells is a Professor and Associate Dean and academic unit head of the Division of Population Health and Applied Health Sciences at Memorial University’s Faculty of Medicine. In this role, she provides strategic academic leadership in education and research, focusing on population and applied health research and advancing the Faculty of Medicine’s social accountability mandate. In this role, Dr. Twells supports faculty and graduate students in addressing key public health challenges and translating research into policy and practice.

Dr. Twells holds an MSc in Epidemiology and Health Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2000) and a PhD in Medicine (Clinical Epidemiology, 2008) from Memorial University. She has been a full-time faculty member at Memorial University since 2007. She previously served as Scientific Director of the CIHR, NL Support Unit (2018–2019) and as Assistant Dean, Clinical Research in the Faculty of Medicine (2021–2024).

Dr. Twells established two interdisciplinary research programs in the areas of: infant nutrition and adult obesity management and continues research in the area of health services. Dr. Twells continues to advance research and is currently the co-principal investigator of Memorial University’s Fertility Research Group, expanding her impact in the field of reproductive health. 

Dr. Twells is an active educator and mentor in the Clinical Epidemiology graduate program and her research has influenced health care policy, clinical practice decision-making and public health interventions.