Medical Research

What are your research interests?

My research interests are two-fold: 

• To help researchers decide on the best design for their studies: this means talking with them to understand their clinical question and to put together the best study design that will answer their question in the most valid way within their budget and means.
• To look at low-cost interventions that might have high clinical impact: at the moment, there are projects looking at whether an existing vaccine can provide protection against heart attacks and stroke, whether zinc tablets can delay the onset of diabetes in those at high risk, and how we can cut down waste in medical test ordering, i.e. stop ordering tests that do not really help with making diagnostic or therapeutic decisions.

Why did you get into research?

The two motivations were creativity and potential to make a difference. Finding the right study design to answer a question is a creative process, akin to a painter that has a set number of colours on his palette but who can do any number of canvases with them. The other is the potential to really make a difference in medical treatment and to change practice for the better.

What would be the ultimate goal for your research?

One of my current projects is looking at a vaccine for cardiovascular disease. If a one-off vaccine could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes as much as a medication that needs to be taken everyday, that would be of real public importance and would have to potential to reduce the burden of disease in our society.

Brief Profile

John Attia is Professor of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Newcastle and has expertise in population, clinical, molecular and genetic epidemiology. Laureate Professor Attia trained at McMaster University (Canada) in clinical medicine with a specialty in general internal medicine (MD) and obtained his fellowship with the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

During this time he was awarded the Outstanding Housestaff award, the J.T. Walsh award for outstanding Internal Medicine resident, and Best Teacher in Internal Medicine. He also obtained a BSc in Physiology (Faculty scholar at McGill University), a MSc in Epidemiology (McMaster University), and a 5-year MRC scholarship to complete his PhD in Molecular Genetics (University of Toronto).

Laureate Professor Attia received the HMRI Award for Research Excellence in 2012 in recognition of his expertise in research methodology, analysis and molecular genetics and an extraordinary work rate that included teaching duties and a contribution rate of almost one medical publication per week.

Since arriving in Newcastle in 1999, the Canadian expatriate has supervised or co-supervised numerous PhD and Master’s students in Public Health. He became Professor of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology in 2006.

Laureate Professor Attia has also served as chief investigator for the Hunter Community Study, a cohort of 3,000 men and women aged 55-85 years that has ongoing research value in the areas of genetics and ageing.

He has been listed on the NHMRC register of Evidence-Based Medicine experts and has provided epidemiological expertise to the Therapeutic Goods Administration and currently to the Medical Services Advisory Committee. He is currently academic director of general medicine at John Hunter Hospital responsible for the advanced training program.

He is still active in clinical medicine as a general physician.

Affiliations

• Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour 
• Australian Gastrointestinal Research Alliance (AGIRA)
• Hunter Medical Research Institute - Public Health