• PhD in Epidemiology University of Birmingham, 2007
• MPH University of Birmingham, 2000
• MA (Cantab) Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge, 1993

Rachel Jordan qualified with a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge (Emmanuel College) in 1993.

After a brief spell in the pharmaceutical industry she went on to take her first post in epidemiology at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine with Professors Nick Wald and Malcolm Law, undertaking a series of systematic reviews including one which led to the generation of the Polypill idea.

Returning to her home town of Birmingham in 1998, Rachel joined the systematic review team in Public Health & Epidemiology, gaining her MPH and being awarded the Thomas McKeown project prize.  In 2000, although still based at the University of Birmingham, Rachel took up a research role with the Health Protection Agency, gaining her PhD part time over a 6-year period, and publishing further related papers, including 3 invited editorials in the BMJ. Most of her work during this period focussed on acute respiratory hospital admissions and the epidemiology of influenza and influenza vaccines.

Following completion of her PhD Rachel became a Lecturer with responsibility for helping to manage the MPH and MSc in Health Protection and moving to work more on chronic respiratory diseases, before in 2008 being awarded a research fellowship from the NIHR entitled “Towards a better understanding of the definition, characteristics and health service requirements of patients with COPD in the UK” comprising a series of studies using the Health Survey for England, the GPRD and published literature. 

More recently she is an integral part of a team of investigators who have beenawarded a £2m NIHR programme grant entitled “COPD in Primary Care: from case finding to improving patient outcomes, co-PI on an HTA-funded evidence review of the effectiveness of self-management for COPD and a key investigator on a number of other related primary and secondary research grants.

In 2011 she was promoted to Senior Lecturer.

Teaching Programmes

• MBChB years 1 & 3
• Public Health MPH/PGDip/PGCert 
• Public Health (Health Protection) MPH/PGDip/PGCert

Rachel is interested in supervising doctoral research students in the following areas:

• Screening/case-finding for COPD
• Natural history and prognosis of COPD
• New interventions for COPD patients, particularly in mild disease

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Rachel on the contact details above, or for any general doctoral research enquiries, please email: dr@contacts.bham.ac.uk or call +44 (0)121 414 5005.

For a full list of available Doctoral Research opportunities, please visit our Doctoral Research programme listings.   

RESEARCH THEMES

COPD screening; COPD epidemiology (aetiology, prognosis and effectiveness of new interventions); COPD self-management; seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine epidemiology; systematic reviews; epidemiological studies; health services research

ACTIVE GRANTS

NIHR Post-doctoral Research Fellowship
Towards a better understanding of the definition, characteristics and health service requirements of patients with COPD in the UK
2008 – 2013; £337,041

NIHR Programme Grant
COPD in Primary Care: from case finding to improving patient outcomes
2011-2016; £2m

HTA programme
Supported self-management for patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): an evidence synthesis and economic analysis
2011-2013; £241,472.

HTA programme
The cost-effectiveness of community based non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in patients with stable end stage COPD with hypercapnic respiratory failure. A systematic review and economic evaluation
2012-2013; £213,264.

National Schools of Primary Care
Evaluation of the PiKo-6 as a novel screening test for case finding for COPD in primary care
Jan – Dec 2012: £58,957

National Schools of Primary Care
Patient self-management in primary care in patients with COPD
Jan 2013– Dec 2015: £802,000

National Schools of Primary Care
A pilot study to assess the prevalence and characteristics of emphysematous lung change in patients with symptoms of COPD and normal spirometry
Jan – Dec 2012: £50,000

Haroon S, Adab P, Griffin C, Jordan R.  Case finding for COPD in primary care: a pilot randomised controlled trial. BJGP 2012 In Press.

Lee SI, Aung EM, Chin IS, Hing J, Mummadi S, Palaniandy G, Jordan RE. Factors affecting medical students’ uptake of the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) vaccine. Influenza Research and Treatment 2012 In Press.

Haroon S, Adab P, Jordan RE. Case finding for COPD in primary care. Systematic review (protocol). PCRJ 2012 In press.

Hothersall E, De Bellis Ayres S, Jordan RE. Factors associated with uptake of pandemic influenza vaccine among General Practitioners and Practice Nurses in Shropshire. PCRJ 2012 In Press.

Janks M, Cooke S, Odedra A, Kang H, Bellman M, Jordan RE. Factors affecting acceptance and intention to receive pandemic influenza A H1N1 vaccine among primary school children: a cross-sectional study in Birmingham. Influenza Research & Treatment 2012  In press.

Jordan RE, Miller MR, Lam KBH, Cheng KK, Adab P.  Sex, smoking and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.  Cross sectional analysis of the Health Survey for England.  Thorax 2012; doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2011-201384 http://thorax.bmj.com/content/67/7/600.full.pdf+html?sid=b24e18cb-9dae-48ad-958d-d9a658a69e9d

Heneghan N, Adab P, Balanos GM, Jordan RE. Manual therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: a systematic review of current evidence. Manual Therapy 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.math.2012.05.004

Jordan RE, Cheng KK, Miller MR, Adab P. Passive smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: cross-sectional analysis of data from the Health Survey for England. BMJ Open 2011;1:e000153 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000153 http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/1/2/e000153.full.pdf+html?sid=fc2b662f-5b4b-4682-a608-830f9ba2b193

Jordan RE, Lancashire RJ, Adab P. An evaluation of Birmingham Own Health telephone care management service among patients with poorly controlled diabetes. A retrospective comparison with the General Practice Research Database. BMC Public Health 2011, 11:707doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-707 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/11/707/

Jordan RE, Lam K-BH, Cheng KK, Miller MR, Marsh JL, Ayres JG, Fitzmaurice D, Adab P. Case finding for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a model for optimizing a targeted approach.  Thorax 2010; 65: 492-8. http://thorax.bmj.com/content/65/6/492.full.pdf+html?sid=61701ba1-532c-4f9b-9205-850cd553025c

Jordan R. Hayward A. Should healthcare workers have the swine flu vaccine? [Invited editorial]. BMJ. 339:b3398, 2009. http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b3398.extract

Lam KB, Jiang CQ, Jordan RE, Miller MR, Zhang WS, Cheng KK, Lam TH, Adab P. Prior tuberculosis, smoking and airflow obstruction: A cross-sectional analysis of the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study. Chest 2009; 137(3): 593-600.

Lam KH, Jordan RE, Jiang CQ, Thomas GN, Miller MR, Zhang WS,LamTH, Cheng KK, Adab P. Airflow obstruction and the metabolic syndrome: the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study. Eur Respir J 2009, doi:10.1183/09031936.00024709

Jordan RE, Hawker JI, Ayres JG, Adab P, Tunnicliffe W, Olowokure B, Kai J, McManus RJ, Salter R, Cheng KK. The effect of social factors on winter respiratory admissions:  A case-control study among older people in the UK. Br J Gen Prac 2008;58:400-402. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2419018/pdf/bjgp58-e1.pdf

Jordan RE, Hawker JI. Influenza vaccine in the over 65’s. [Invited Editorial]. BMJ 2008; 337:1183-4.

Jordan RE, Hawker JI, Ayres JG, Tunnicliffe W, Adab P, Olowokure B, et al . A case–control study of elderly patients with acute respiratory illness: Effect of influenza vaccination on admission to hospital in winter 2003–2004. Vaccine 2007; 25:7909-13.

Jordan RE, Hawker JI.  Influenza in elderly people in care homes: New evidence strengthens policy to vaccinate healthcare workers [Invited Editorial]. BMJ 2006; 333:1229-30.

Burls AJ, Jordan RE, Barton P, Olowokure B, Wake B, Albon E, Hawker JI. Vaccinating healthcare workers against influenza to protect the vulnerable -  is it a good use of healthcare resources? A systematic review of the evidence and an economic evaluation.  Vaccine 2006; 24(19):4212-4221. 

Jordan RE, Connock M, Albon E, Fry-Smith A, Olowokure B, Hawker J and Burls A. Universal vaccination of children against influenza: Are there indirect benefits to the community?: A systematic review of the evidence. Vaccine 2006; 24:1047-1062.

Jordan RE,  Verlander N, Olowokure B, Hawker JI,.  Age, sex, material deprivation and respiratory mortality.  Respiratory Medicine 2006; 100(7):1282-1285.

Zhang D, Yin P, Freemantle N, Jordan R, Zhong N, Cheng KK .  An assessment of the quality of randomised controlled trials conducted in China. Trials [Electronic Resource]. 9:22, 2008. [Impact factor 2.02]

Law MR, Morris J, Jordan RE, Wald NJ. Headaches and the treatment of blood pressure: results from a meta-analysis of 94 randomised placebo controlled trials with 24000 participants. Circulation 2005; 112: 2301 - 2306

Jordan RE, Olowokure B. Indirect community protection against influenza by vaccinating children: A review of two recent studies from Italy and the United States.  Eurosurveillance Weekly 2004:8 (51): 7-9.

Law MR. Wald NJ. Morris JK. Jordan RE. Value of low dose combination treatment with blood pressure lowering drugs: analysis of 354 randomised trials.  BMJ. 326(7404):1427-1434, 2003 Jun 28.

Jordan R. Carter T. Cummins C. A systematic review of the utility of electrodiagnostic testing in carpal tunnel syndrome.  British Journal of General Practice. 52(481):670-3, 2002 Aug.

Jordan R. Gold L. Cummins C. Hyde C. Systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence for increasing numbers of drugs in antiretroviral combination therapy.  BMJ. 324(7340):757-766, 2002 Mar 30.

Stewart A. Cummins C. Gold L. Jordan R. Phillips W. The effectiveness of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system in menorrhagia: a systematic review.  BJOG: an International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 108(1):74-86, 2001 Jan.

Jordan R, Cummins C, Burls A.  Laser resurfacing of the skin for the improvement of facial acne scarring: a systematic review of the evidence. British Journal of Dermatology 2000; 142: 413-423.

Jordan R, Cummins C, Burls A, Seukeran D. Laser resurfacing for facial acne scars (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2001. Oxford:Update Software.

Branas P. Jordan R. Fry-Smith A. Burls A. Hyde C. Treatments for fatigue in multiple sclerosis: a rapid and systematic review.  Health Technology Assessment (Winchester, England). 4(27):1-61, 2000.

Jordan RE, Law MR. An appraisal of the efficacy and cost effectiveness of antenatal screening for hepatitis B. Journal of Medical Screening 1997; 4(3): 117-127

Jordan R, Law M.  Screening Brief: Hepatoma and chronic liver disease from maternally transmitted hepatitis B infection. Journal of Medical Screening 1998; 5: 54

Jordan RE, Smart D, Grimson P, Suman-Chauhan N, McKnight AT. Activation of the cloned human NK₃ receptor in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells characterised by the cellular acidification response using the Cytosensor microphysiometer. British Journal of Pharmacology 1998; 125: 761-766.