Lianne Parkin is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in public health and the safety of medicines.

Lianne Parkin
Parkin in 2003
AwardsIg Nobel Prize
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Otago
Thesis
Doctoral advisorCharlotte Paul, David Skegg
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Otago

Academic career

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Parkin completed a medical degree and a postgraduate diploma in obstetrics at the University of Otago, and practised as a GP in New Zealand and Australia.[1] PhD titled Risk factors for venous thromboembolism at the University of Otago, supervised by Charlotte Paul and David Skegg.[2] Parkin then joined the faculty of the university, rising to associate professor in 2019,[3] and full professor in 2023.[4][5]

Parkin has researched the association between blood clots and flying, finding that long-distance flights did increase the risk of pulmonary embolism but that dying from the condition was still rare.[6] She and her research group have also investigated the link between the cholesterol-lowering drugs statins and the muscle disease rhabdomyolysis,[7][8] and noted an increased risk of the kidney condition interstitial nephritis from the use of proton-pump inhibitors.[9][10] Parkin has received grant funding to investigate how type 2 diabetics in New Zealand use metformin.[11]

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Parkin studied the proportion of people scanning QR codes at public venues to enable contact tracing.[12] She also looked at the proportion of students at the university reporting their Covid infections, finding that although more than 94% of surveyed student flats had cases during the study period, more than a third of infected students did not report their positive test result.[13]

Honours and awards

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In 2010, Parkin and collaborators Patricia Priest and Sheila Williams won an Ig Nobel Prize for demonstrating that, on icy footpaths in wintertime, people slip and fall less often if they wear socks on the outside of their shoes.[14][15] The Ig Nobel Prizes are given to "honour achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think". The advice to wear socks over shoes on icy streets is given by Dunedin City Council, where the study was conducted, although Parkin's study noted that some people are too self-conscious to wear them even after experiencing the benefits.[15]

Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ University of Otago (2 August 2023). "Professor Lianne Parkin Profile". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ^ Parkin, Lianne (2008). Risk factors for venous thromboembolism (PhD thesis). OUR Archive, University of Otago.
  3. ^ Department of Tourism (12 December 2018). "University of Otago announces academic promotions". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  4. ^ Lewis, John (17 December 2022). "University promotes 39 to professor". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  5. ^ University of Otago, Wellington (16 December 2022). "Otago announces 39 new professors". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Risk up with flight but fatal clots rare". NZ Herald. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Muscle damage associated with taking statins". NZ Herald. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Study highlights shortcomings in statin prescribing habits". New Zealand Doctor. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  9. ^ Gibb, John (26 March 2014). "Drugs' disease risk concern". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  10. ^ Lewis, John (17 August 2021). "Warning about bronchodilators". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  11. ^ Government, Pharmac | New Zealand (2 March 2017). "Grant winners announced for new joint pharmaceuticals research fund". Pharmac | New Zealand Government. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Low numbers scanning Covid-19 QR code posters, audit reveals". RNZ. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  13. ^ Lewis, John (6 February 2023). "Students urged to report Covid test results". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  14. ^ Constantine, Ellie (2 October 2010). "Socks on ice a winner". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  15. ^ a b Abrahams, Marc (9 March 2010). "Put a sock on it". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 January 2024.