Professor Jeff Griffiths

Research

I have been  awarded a number of Research Council grants, and have received financial support  from the European Union and World Health Organisation for my work on modelling  the spread of HIV/AIDS.

From 1987 - 1997 I was UK representative on the EU  Concerted Action to investigate the control and spread of HIV/AIDS in Europe.  This project involved about 70 researchers, with representatives from all EU  countries, plus invited guests from USA.

I have lectured widely on HIV/AIDS,  particularly in USA, and was the lead speaker at the Baltic Operational  Research Conference held in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2003.

In 2008 I was awarded an  EPSRC Science and Innovation grant (LANCS Initiative) in conjunction with the Universities of Lancaster, Nottingham, and  Southampton.  The total value of the award was over £13M, and Cardiff's share was approximately £3.3 million.

I led the Healthcare Research  Cluster of the LANCS Initiative. Current and recent projects include:

• Investigation of risk factors associated with diabetes mellitis
• Study of treatment effects for HIV/AIDS
• Macro-vascular disease in diabetes patients
• Age effects in patients with HIV/AIDS
• Intensive Care and High Dependency facilities in a large Teaching Hospital
• Comparison of treatments for osteoporosis
• Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Methicillin Sensitive  Staphylococcus Aureus mortality comparisons
• Diagnosis of bone mineral density disease
• Modelling waiting times and waiting lists in National Health Service hospitals  in Wales
• Modelling  treatments regimes in a rehabilitation hospital
• Modelling  hip-fracture facilities in a teaching hospital.

Research interests

• Queueing Theory
• Discrete Event Simulation
• Healthcare Modelling
• Epidemiology
• Transport Modelling

Research activities

I was head of the Operational Research Group within the School of Mathematics for 43 years. Some recent projects include:

• Investigation of risk factors associated with diabetes mellitus (GlaxoSmithKline)
• Study of treatment effects for HIV/AIDS (EU)
• Macro-vascular disease in diabetes patients
• Age effects in patients with HIV/AIDS
• Intensive Care and High Dependency facilities in a large Teaching Hospital (NHS)
• Comparison of treatments for osteoporosis (Royal Glamorgan Hospital)
• Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus  mortality comparisons (NHS)
• Diagnosis of bone mineral density disease (Royal Glamorgan Hospital)
• Modelling waiting times and waiting lists in National Health Service hospitals in Wales (Welsh Assembly Government)
• Modelling Hospital Operating Theatre Performance (NHS)

Teaching

• MA3600 Operational Research II

Postgraduate students

Over the last ten years I have supervised the following PhD students:

• Jack Baber
• Mari Jones
• Cheryl Voake
• Zoe Lawson
• Ganna Leonenko
• Naomi Price-Lloyd
• Dawn Lowrie
• Emma Snary
• Rachael Salmon
• Phil McEwan
• Tracey England

Biography

My PhD is  in Stochastic Processes, and I first became interested in Epidemiology and  Healthcare when investigating the world-wide eradication of smallpox in the  late 1960s and early 1970s.

Since that time I have undertaken a large number of  consultancies and contracts with government establishments and with a variety  of public and private companies, including:

• GlaxoWellcome (GlaxoSmithKline)
• University Hospital of Wales
• National Health Service
• Welsh Assembly  Government.

I have also worked extensively in the field of transport, with  particular reference to congestion problems, and has held consultancies with BP  Oil Ltd, Department of Transport, British Steel, Welsh Office, Maunsell  Consultancy Services, Suez Canal Authority, Transport Research Laboratory, etc.

I've worked in many parts of the world including Europe, USA, Canada, Africa,  Middle East, Far East, Australia, and New Zealand.