His main interest is in cardiovascular epidemiology, and most particularly the design, conduct and application of large-scale randomised trials in cardiovascular disease. His research includes the coordination of meta-analyses of randomised trials, typically with individual participant data, resulting in landmark papers that have helped determine the effects of aspirin (and other antiplatelet drugs), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, fibrinolytic therapy, and statins in different types of patients. The recent work of his group on the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration, led by Associate Professor Christina (Kirsty) Reith, has provided major new insights into the safety of statin therapy.
Together with Professor Sir Martin Landray, he initiated the department’s Renal Studies Group, now led by Professors Will Herrington and Richard Haynes, and he remains actively involved in the group’s work. This group has contributed to a better understanding of cardiovascular disease and the determinants of progressive loss of kidney function in patients with renal impairment through its work on large-scale randomised trials of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).