Dr Jennifer Summers

PhD, DHMSA, AKC, PGDipPH, PGCap, BSc, CStat, FRHistS, FHEA, MRSNZ

Senior Lecturer

51cg

Email Address: jennifer.summers@abdn.ac.uk
Office Address: Health Sciences Building
Foresterhill Campus
Foresterhill
AB25 2ZD
View on Map
School/Department: School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition

Biography

Dr Jennifer Summers is an Epidemiologist, Medical Statistician and Medical Historian, trained in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Her work focuses on epidemiology, pandemic preparedness, and the application of medical statistics to public health challenges, with particular expertise in infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and influenza pandemics.

She has held academic and research roles at King’s College London (within the Medical Statistics Unit and the King’s Technology Evaluation Centre) and the University of Otago, where she contributed to the Health Environment & Infection Research Unit and the Burden of Disease Epidemiology, Equity and Cost-Effectiveness Programme. Her work spans clinical & registry trials, disease modelling, and large-scale epidemiological analyses.

Dr Summers has extensive experience in teaching and supervision at undergraduate and postgraduate level, alongside providing statistical consultancy to clinical and academic teams. She has contributed to over 200 research outputs, including peer-reviewed publications, reports, and policy-relevant briefings, with her work informing national and international public health policy.

From 2013 to 2019, she served as an independent representative for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK, contributing to evidence-based healthcare guidance and medical technology assessments. Her research has played a role in shaping health policy and pandemic response strategies in multiple settings.

Qualifications

DHMSA History of Medicine
2020 - The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
Dissertation: 'An Overview of the Vaccine use amongst the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces during World War One'
AKC Associate of King's College (Ethics and Theology)
2016 - King's College London
PGCap Academic Practice (Higher Education)
2016 - King's College London
PhD Epidemiology
2013 - Otago University
Thesis:
PGDipPH Public Health
2008 - Otago University
BSc Applied Statistics and Psychology
2006 - Victoria University of Wellington

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships

51cg Senator: Elected 2025 - 2026

School Ethics Review Board PGT

Epidemiology Media & Engagement Committee

Affiliate Member: Postgraduate Education Research Group

External Memberships

Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Otago, New Zealand

Affiliate of Kings College London, United Kingdom

Assistant Editor: European Journal of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care

Assistant Editor: European Journal of Anaesthesiology

Member of:

Royal Historical Society, United Kingdom
STEM Women Asia
Royal Statistical Society, United Kingdom
John Snow Society, United Kingdom
International Society for Clinical Biostatistics, France
International Epidemiological Association

Latest Publications

Diverging Pre-Pandemic Mortality Trends: Age-Specific and Cause-Specific Patterns Across High-Income Countries
2026 - Published
Pérez-Reche, F. J., Summers, J., Jones, G. T., Macfarlane, G. J.
Working Papers: Preprint Papers
- [ONLINE] DOI:
Perioperative analgesia in high-risk patients, what clinicians and searchers must know?: A narrative review
2026 - Published
Beloeil, H., Joshi, G. P., Lavand'homme, P., Cox, F., Summers, J., Pogatzki-Zahn, E., Forget, P.
Anaesthesia, critical care & pain medicine, vol. 45, no. 3, 101644
Contributions to Journals: Review articles
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [ONLINE]
Pain and opioids after surgery (PANDOS): Protocol of a prospective, international, observational cohort study
2025 - Published
Forget, P., Cotton, S., Keir, H., Campbell, L., Onyeakazi, U., Aljohani, D. M., Almodibeg, B., Jutila, L., Hauser, W., Rosenberger, D., Ferguson, K., Ramsay, G., Adam, R., Summers, J., Pogatzki-Zahn, E., Pain AND Opioids after Surgery (PANDOS) European Society of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care (ESAIC) Research Group
European Journal of Anaesthesiology Intensive Care, vol. 4, no. 6, e0092
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
A proactive Covid-19 response associated with better health and economic outcomes for OECD High-Income Island Countries
2025 - Published
Summers, J., Kerr, J., Grout, L., Kvalsvig, A., Baker, M., Wilson, N.
SSM - Population Health, vol. 31, 101827
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
Socioeconomic deprivation and postoperative mortality:: a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data
2025 - Published
Lilley, R., Woodier, J., Summers, J., Forget, P.
BJA Open, vol. 15, 100479
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]

View My Publications

Prizes and Awards

Awarded 'Top Cited Article 2021-2022' in Wiley for: Grout L, Katar A, Ait Ouakrim D, Summers JA, Kvalsvig A, Baker MG, Blakely T, Wilson N. . Med J Aust. 2021;215:320-4.
Awarded 'Best Research Paper of 2021' at University of Otago, Wellington for: Summers J, Cheng H-Y, Lin H-H, Telfar Barnard L, Kvalsvig A, Wilson N, Baker MG. 2020. . Lancet Regional Health: Western Pacific. 4, 100044.

Research

Research Areas

Applied Health Sciences

View Research Area

Research Specialisms

Epidemiology
Medical Statistics
History of Medicine
Higher Education
Environmental and Public Health

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is , published under the licence.

Supervision

PhD Supervision:

Bader Almodibeg, Title: Perioperative Opioids and Opioids after Surgery, 51cg, United Kingdom
Tariq Khogeer, Title: Acute and Long-term Consequences of Delirium after Anaesthesia and Surgery, 51cg, United Kingdom

MPH Supervision:

Olabimpe Lawal, Title: A systematic review and narrative synthesis on Black women’s use and experience of antenatal care in the UK, Masters of Public Health, King's College London, United Kingdom
Alexander Van Heusden, Title: Health and Social Impacts Trade-offs with COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage and the Easing of International Border Controls: Agent-Based Modelling for Aotearoa New Zealand in 2022, Masters of Public Health, Otago University, New Zealand

Funding and Grants

Select Grants:

. 2022, Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora: Wellington, New Zealand. Summers J, Harwood M, Baker M, Plank M, French N, Simpson C, Bunce M, Nghiem N, Kvalsvig A, Zhang J.
Identifying determinants of success in the COVID-19 response among high-income island jurisdictions. 2021, Otago University, New Zealand: Wellington, New Zealand. Co-Principal Investigator. Wilson N, Summers J, Kvalsvig A.
King’s Technology Evaluation Centre (KiTEC). External Assessment Centres Tender, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), United Kingdom
King’s Technology Evaluation Centre (KiTEC). External Assessment Centres Tender, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), United Kingdom
Research Design Service Fellowship, 2019. Kings College London, United Kingdom

Teaching

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

Lecturer: Aberdeen Short Course in Epidemiology
Co-Course Coordinator: PU5030, PU5036, QH5003 Epidemiology
Co-Course Coordinator: PU5538 Epidemiology
Tutor: MBChB Student Selected Component II & III
51cg Personal Tutor
Marker: PU5030 Epidemiology (from 2024) and PU5922 Masters Research Project
Established Postgraduate Group for students in the Health Environment & Infection Research Unit at Otago University (2022-2024)
Master’s Supervisor and Assessor, King’s College London and Otago University (2018-2023)
Statistical and General Grant Advisor, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service (2013-2019)
Lecturer and tutor for Master of Public Health for ‘Basic Epidemiology & Statistics for Public Health’, ‘Further Epidemiology and Statistics for Public Health’, King's College London (2016-2019) including ‘Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis’ and R/STATA for ‘Survival Analysis’, ‘Linear Regression’, and ‘Logistic Regression’
Tutor and assessor for Master of Public Health for ‘Population Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics’, and ‘Public Health and Primary Care Dissertation’, King's College London (2016-2019)
Tutor and Assessor for MBBS 1st and 2nd year for ‘Genes, Behaviour and Environment’, and 'Clinical Epidemiology', King's College London (2023-2019)
Curriculum Design and Assessor for Master of Health Sciences, King’s College London (2018-2019)
Statistical Consultant, Guy's Hospital, Kings College Hospital and King's College London (2023-2019)

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

Public lectures

School of Medicine, Medical Sciences, and Nutrition, Lunch & Learn Series
Wilson N, Summers J, Baker M, Invited speaker: Lessons in Covid-19 control from New Zealand – with some comparisons to other high-income island jurisdictions (including Iceland and Taiwan) at Taiwan National University, 2023, Taipei, Taiwan.
Summers J, Invited speaker for 2015, NZ-UK Link Foundation: Imperial War Museum, London, United Kingdom.

Publications

Update

51cg

Biography

Qualifications

Memberships and Affiliations

Latest Publications

Diverging Pre-Pandemic Mortality Trends: Age-Specific and Cause-Specific Patterns Across High-Income Countries

Perioperative analgesia in high-risk patients, what clinicians and searchers must know?: A narrative review

Pain and opioids after surgery (PANDOS): Protocol of a prospective, international, observational cohort study

A proactive Covid-19 response associated with better health and economic outcomes for OECD High-Income Island Countries

Socioeconomic deprivation and postoperative mortality:: a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data

Prizes and Awards

Research Areas

Applied Health Sciences

Research Specialisms

Supervision

Funding and Grants

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

Diverging Pre-Pandemic Mortality Trends: Age-Specific and Cause-Specific Patterns Across High-Income Countries

Perioperative analgesia in high-risk patients, what clinicians and searchers must know?: A narrative review

Pain and opioids after surgery (PANDOS): Protocol of a prospective, international, observational cohort study

A proactive Covid-19 response associated with better health and economic outcomes for OECD High-Income Island Countries

Socioeconomic deprivation and postoperative mortality:: a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data

Comparing the Covid-19 response and major outcomes in island nations

Modelling the Potential Impacts of Limiting Vaping Product Sales to Pharmacies

Health impacts of war: case studies of New Zealand veterans of the First World War

Comparing two pandemics: A century apart

Campylobacter

A Proactive COVID-19 Response Associated with Better Health and Economic Outcomes for OECD High-Income Island Countries

The unseen casualties of the First World War:: insights from a randomly selected military sample

Continued mitigation needed to minimise the high health burden from COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand

Improvements and Persisting Challenges in COVID-19 Response Compared with 1918–19 Influenza Pandemic Response, New Zealand (Aotearoa)

Comparing COVID-19 pandemic health responses in two high-income island nations:: Iceland and New Zealand

Aotearoa New Zealand's fourth wave of Covid-19 and why we should care

Protecting school communities from COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks: the urgent need for healthy schools in Aotearoa New Zealand

Statistics and Evidence-Based Healthcare

To prepare for future pandemics, we can learn from the OECD’s top two performers: New Zealand and Iceland

Disease-Related Loss to Government Funding:: Longitudinal Analysis of Individual-Level Health and Tax Data for an Entire Country

Tobacco endgame intervention impacts on health gains and Maori: non-Maori health inequity:: a simulation study of the Aotearoa/New Zealand Tobacco Action Plan

Lessons in Covid-19 control from New Zealand – with some comparisons to other high-income island jurisdictions (including Iceland and Taiwan)

Differential Lifespan Impacts on Veterans by War Exposure in the First World War

The case for denicotinising tobacco in Aotearoa NZ remains strong:: response to online critique

Impact of Covid 19 on men’s health

Improving on estimates of the potential relative harm to health from using modern ENDS (vaping) compared to tobacco smoking

Politicians in Aotearoa NZ live longer than other Kiwis and the gap keeps widening

Differential Lifespan Impacts on Veterans by War Exposure in the First World War

Public Health Solutions Series: Protecting the healthcare system: a strategic approach to reducing infectious disease impacts in Aotearoa New Zealand

The Covid-19 experience in Aotearoa New Zealand and other comparable high-income jurisdictions and implications for managing the next pandemic phase

An Official Inquiry into the Covid-19 Pandemic Response –: It’s Time and it’s Vital

Indoor air quality, largely neglected and in urgent need of a refresh

Monkeypox has arrived in Aotearoa New Zealand:: what is the level of risk and how do we manage it?

Simulation Modelling of Tobacco Endgame Interventions and Their Impact on Māori:Non-Māori Health Inequity in Aotearoa-New Zealand

The urgent need for a Covid-19 Action Plan for Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand

Covid-19 Case-Fatality Risk & Infection-Fatality Risk : – important measures to help guide the pandemic response

The Omicron waves –: Comparing Aotearoa NZ and Australia in four key graphs

Covid-19 Hospitalisations Now Peaking in Aotearoa NZ: – But Key Covid-19 Control Measures Still Need to be Maintained

Longer-term harm from Covid-19 in children:: The evidence suggests greater efforts are needed to protect children in Aotearoa NZ from infection

Updated Health and Cost Impacts of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Using Recent Estimates of Relative Harm for Vaping Compared to Smoking

Integrated Prevention and Control of Seasonal Respiratory Infections in Aotearoa New Zealand:: next steps for transformative change

Mortality declines in Aotearoa NZ during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic

COVID-19 hospitalisation peaks in Australian States since Omicron emerged: potential relevance to Aotearoa NZ

Protecting New Zealand children from the developing Omicron outbreak

Potential impact of an Omicron outbreak: A look at the IHME modelling for NZ

Preparing for Omicron: A proactive Government response is urgently needed to minimise harms

Modelling the impacts of tobacco denicotinisation on achieving the Smokefree 2025 goal in Aotearoa New Zealand

Impact of war on veteran life span: natural experiment involving combat versus non-combat exposed military personnel

COVID-19, Christmas, the New Year and Summer Holidays: What the NZ Government and individuals can do to minimise the risks

Vaping needs much tighter regulation as we approach Smokefree Aotearoa 2025:: Two new studies

Management of Auckland’s border and COVID-19

The need for an updated strategic approach to Covid-19 control in Aotearoa NZ

Using Rapid Antigen Tests to improve COVID-19 control in Aotearoa NZ

Failures of quarantine systems for preventing COVID-19 outbreaks in Australia and New Zealand

Intensifying Covid-19 Control Measures:: 5 Measures for Faster Elimination and 5 Measures to Prevent Future outbreaks

Improving ventilation in schools: a key protection against Covid-19 outbreaks and an enduring legacy for healthier learning

A Smokefree Aotearoa –: could taking the nicotine out of smoked tobacco products help us get there?

What are the lessons for NZ from battles against delta around the world?

An upgraded Alert Level 2 is urgently needed to address the Delta Variant threat

Five lessons for Aotearoa NZ from the current COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales

Lessons from jurisdictions that are battling their own Delta variant outbreaks