Profile

Dr Jenna PANTER

Co-Principal Investigator

Dr Jenna Panter trained in environmental sciences (BSc) before completing a PhD focusing on the environmental and psychosocial influences on walking and cycling, using data from the SPEEDY and EPIC-Norfolk studies. She then moved to the MRC Epidemiology Unit to work as the lead quantitative researcher on the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study. She then won an NIHR post-doctoral fellowship (2013 to 2015) which focused on understanding the effects of environmental changes on walking, cycling and physical activity, as well as understanding the mechanisms by which such changes in behaviour are brought about.

Dr Panter has collaborated with academics from the University of Oxford, the University of Bristol and the University College London and has experience translating her work for policymakers and practitioners. She provided expert testimony and submitted evidence to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Programme Development Group for their guidance on promoting walking and cycling and also co-authored the chapter on ‘obesogenic environments’ part of a key British Government Foresight report entitled ‘Tackling Obesities: Future Choices’. Dr Panter is a senior member of the Population Health Interventions programme. Her current research focuses on examining patterns and determinants of change in physical activity, evaluating environmental and policy interventions and evidence synthesis.

Cambridge

Researchers

HD4

Research Interest

How environmental and policy interventions in urban areas influence population-level physical activity and diet, with a focus on active travel (walking and cycling) and whether impacts are distributed equitably. Development of methods for the evaluation of environmental interventions, using experimental and quasi-experimental designs, as well as quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Key Publications

Google Scholar Link

J. Panter, C. Guell, D. Humphreys and D. Ogilvie, “Can changing the physical environment promote walking and cycling? A systematic review of what works and how,” Health & Place, vol. 58, p. 102 161, 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102161.

J. Panter et al., “Using alternatives to the car and risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality,” Heart, vol. 104, no. 21, pp. 1749–1755, 2018. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2017-312699.

J. Panter and D. Ogilvie, “Can environmental improvement change the population distribution of walking?” Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, vol. 71, no. 6, pp. 528–535, 2017. doi: 10.1136/jech-2016-208417.

J. Panter, E. Heinen, R. Mackett and D. Ogilvie, “Impact of New Transport Infrastructure on Walking, Cycling, and Physical Activity,” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 50, no. 2, e45–e53, 2016. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2015.09.021.

J. R. Panter, A. P. Jones and E. M. van Sluijs, “Environmental determinants of active travel in youth: A review and framework for future research,” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 34, 2008. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-5-34.

Achievements