Personal profile
Research interests
I am a quantitative analyst with expertise developing and applying methods to address research questions about how people, and institutions, change across time - working with data in health, education, and psychology.
Since joining the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) in 2017, I have developed and applied methods to explore how people vary – within themselves, across time; for example, asking: What factors are associated with within-individual variability in memory performance in older age? Does within-individual variability in blood pressure predict later indicators of cardiovascular disease, above-and-beyond mean blood pressure? This interest in within-group (where a group is a person in this case) variability extends to other types of group too, such as investigating differences in within-school variability in student outcomes. I have also worked with the Trajectories of Outcome in Neurological Conditions-Mulitiple Sclerosis (TONiC-MS) study team, investigating the socio-demographic factors associated with disability progression in people with MS.
My other current research interests include the development, and application, of methods to analyse: treatment effect heterogeneity; multimorbidity; alcohol consumption and autistic traits; family financial hardship, mental health and criminal behaviour; social judgements.
Prior to this role, I was based at the School of Education at the University of Bristol, as a researcher in the Centre for Multilevel Modelling and part-time lecturer in Social Statistics/Quantitative Methods.
My earlier background is in biology and psychology, and the areas they intersect. I conducted my PhD, developing novel indicators of emotional state in animals, in the Animal Welfare and Behaviour group at Bristol’s Veterinary School. This followed my undergraduate degree in Joint Honours Psychology and Zoology (BSc); as such, I’m a graduate member of the British Psychological Society.
I also enjoy engaging with non-specialist audiences to discuss scientific work and ideas, and have helped develop and deliver public engagement activities at Bristol's FUTURES Festival of Discovery, and at the Green Man Festival.
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Research output
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Assessing disability progression using the WHODAS 2.0 in multiple sclerosis: investigating clinical and socio-demographic factors in a large longitudinal cohort study (TONiC-MS)
Parker, R. M. A., Tilling, K. M., Mills, R., Tennant, A., Ben-Shlomo, Y., Constantinescu, C., Kalra, S. & Young, C., 1 Jan 2025, In: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. 93, 9 p., 106228.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review
Open Access2 Citations (Scopus) -
Software Application Profile: TIDAL – Tool to Implement Developmental Analysis of Longitudinal data
Kwong, A. S. F., Edmondson-Stait, A., Xu, E. Y., Thompson, E. J., Parker, R. M. A., Elhakeem, A., Romaniuk, L., Pearson, R., Tilling, K. M., Eley, T. C., McIntosh, A. M. & Whalley, H. C., 1 Aug 2025, In: International Journal of Epidemiology. 54, 4, 8 p., dyaf095.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review
Open Access -
Mixed-effects location scale models for joint modeling school value-added effects on the mean and variance of student achievement
Leckie, G. B., Parker, R. M. A., Goldstein, H. & Tilling, K. M., 1 Dec 2024, In: Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics. 49, 6, p. 879-911 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review
Open Access9 Citations (Scopus)
Projects
- 3 Finished
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Trajectories of Outcomes in Neurological Conditions: What really determines quality of life in people with MS? (MS Society)
Young, C. (Principal Investigator), Tilling, K. M. (Co-Investigator), Diggle, P. J. (Co-Investigator), Langdon, D. (Co-Investigator), Ben-Shlomo, Y. (Co-Investigator), Mills, R. (Co-Investigator) & Parker, R. M. A. (Researcher)
1/01/20 → 2/03/21
Project: Research
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Modelling within-individual variation in repeated continuous exposures (MRC)
Parker, R. M. A. (Researcher), Tilling, K. M. (Principal Investigator), Muniz-Terrera, G. (Co-Investigator), Howe, L. D. (Co-Investigator), Heron, J. E. (Co-Investigator), Goldstein, H. (Co-Investigator), Leckie, G. B. (Co-Investigator) & Macdonald-Wallis, C. M. (Co-Investigator)
30/06/17 → 31/12/19
Project: Research
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The use of interactive electronic-books in the teaching and application of modern, quantitative social science methods
Browne, W. J. (Principal Investigator), Goldstein, H. (Co-Investigator), Jones, K. (Co-Investigator), Leckie, G. B. (Co-Investigator), Moreau, L. (Co-Investigator), Parker, R. M. A. (Researcher) & Michaelides, D. (Researcher)
1/10/13 → 30/09/17
Project: Research
Thesis
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Cognitive bias as an indicator of emotional states in animals
Parker, R. M. A. (Author), 2008Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
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