Professor, School of Population Health
University of Auckland, New Zealand
About Dr. Scragg
Robert Scragg is a leading epidemiologist and public health researcher based at the University of Auckland, where he heads the School of Population Health. His work has focused broadly on chronic disease, but more recently he has turned his attention to vitamin D, especially its roles in cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory infection, and general population health.
He is well known for large-scale randomized trials such as the Vitamin D Assessment (ViDA) study, which investigated high-dose vitamin D supplementation in community-dwelling adults, and for post hoc analyses exploring vitamin D’s effects on cancer outcomes.
Dr. Scragg is also active in public and academic outreach, contributing commentary on nutrition policy and vitamin D, and educating students in quantitative methods.
Key Contributions & Research
- ViDA Study & Cancer Analyses: He led the ViDA randomized clinical trial that evaluated monthly high-dose vitamin D supplementation and later conducted a post hoc analysis on cancer outcomes.
- Cardiovascular and Other Trials: Dr. Scragg has conducted research on high-dose vitamin D supplementation and cardiovascular disease outcomes.
- Vitamin D & Blood Pressure: He has explored long-term vitamin D3 supplementation and its impact on blood pressure.
- Population Health & Data Science: He applies large data analytics to epidemiology, leveraging observational and interventional studies to test vitamin D hypotheses in real-world populations.
Top Publications
- Scragg R, Khaw K, Toop L, et al. Monthly High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation and Cancer Risk: A Post Hoc Analysis of the ViDA Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncology (2018). https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2687971 JAMA Network
- Scragg R, Stewart AW, Waayer D, et al. Effect of monthly high-dose vitamin D supplementation on cardiovascular disease in the ViDA Study. JAMA Cardiology (2017).
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5815022/ PMC - Scragg R, et al. Long-Term High-Dose Vitamin D3 Supplementation and Blood Pressure. Hypertension (2014).
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.114.03466
