Rate My Professor Kirsten Coppell

Associate Professor Kirsten Coppell is a Research Associate Professor and Public Health Physician in the Department of Medicine, University of Otago. She holds positions including Regional Associate Dean for Nelson and Marlborough in the Health Sciences Division and has affiliations with the Dunedin School of Medicine and Wellington campus. A specialist in public health medicine, she has trained and practised as a general practitioner in New Zealand. Her career at the University of Otago spans from 2003, initially in Dunedin until 2023, and subsequently in Wellington. She has served as Senior Research Fellow and contributed significantly to the Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research (EDOR) Centre, including as a key researcher and co-director. Coppell's research specializations encompass public health and preventive medicine, prediabetes and diabetes prevention, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), nutrition, coeliac disease, community interventions, epidemiology, metabolism, insulin resistance, lipids, and nutritional education. She led the prediabetes intervention study in Hawkes Bay, demonstrating effective primary care strategies for regression to normal glucose regulation. Other major projects include the Ngati and Healthy community-wide diabetes prevention intervention in a high-risk indigenous community (two-year results published in 2009), the Prevention of Overweight in Infancy (POI.nz) randomised controlled trial targeting sleep, food, and activity interventions from birth (2011), and evaluations of diabetes care in the Otago region.

Her scholarly impact is evidenced by highly cited publications, including 'Glycaemic control of type 1 diabetes in clinical practice early in the 21st century: an international comparison' (Diabetic Medicine, 2015), 'Nutritional intervention in patients with type 2 diabetes who are hyperglycaemic despite optimised drug treatment—Lifestyle Over and Above Drugs in Diabetes (LOADD) study' (BMJ, 2010), 'Prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes in New Zealand: findings from the 2008/09 Adult Nutrition Survey' (NZ Medical Journal, 2013), 'The global NAFLD policy review and preparedness index: are countries ready to address this silent public health challenge?' (Journal of Hepatology, 2022), and 'Targeting sleep, food, and activity in infants for obesity prevention: an RCT' (Pediatrics, 2017). Coppell has presented on topics such as diabetes and COVID-19, health and the environment, prediabetes in primary care, and the BEATS symposium on built environment and active transport. Her work influences public health policy, diabetes management, obesity prevention, and community-based interventions in New Zealand, particularly for vulnerable populations.