Cambridge Public Health is delighted to welcome Professor Nick Wareham as our new Co-Director.
Professor Wareham is Director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit and Co-Director of the Institute of Metabolic Science. He also leads Population Health Improvement UK, a national research network established to develop innovative and inclusive ways to improve the health of people, places and communities.
His work focuses the causes of obesity and type 2 diabetes, and on examining how genetic, behavioural, and early-life factors influence their development. His research also explores how this evidence can inform strategies for prevention and earlier detection, spanning both individual-level and population-level approaches.
Building connections across Cambridge
Speaking about what he is most looking forward to in joining Cambridge Public Health, Professor Wareham emphasised the opportunity to strengthen connections across the University.
“It’s easy to become siloed when working across different sites and disciplines,” he said. “Public health, in its truest sense, is interdisciplinary — it can’t be based in a single school or department. Cambridge Public Health can help connect people, spark ideas and enable collaboration.”
He noted the untapped potential for greater connectivity across Schools and departments, and the benefits that can emerge when people and areas of expertise are brought together.
Investing upstream to improve population health
Professor Wareham also highlighted the challenge of investing in research that improves population health, reduces inequalities, and remains affordable in the current economic climate.
“We need to make the economic case for investing upstream in public health,” he said. “A medicine-based approach has its limits. There are real opportunities in prevention and in addressing the wider determinants of health.”
Professor Wareham now joins the Cambridge Public Health leadership team, bringing his experience and perspective to our work in connecting people and disciplines across the University in support of population health.