The MRC Epidemiology Unit and the UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) at the University of Cambridge are pleased to announce the appointment of Martin White to lead research into Dietary Behaviours and Public Health Interventions.
Martin will lead a research programme focused on understanding the determinants of behaviour and the development and evaluation of interventions that impact dietary behaviours. He will also play a leadership role in the Unit and CEDAR. Previously Director of Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research – www.fuse.ac.uk – Martin is a clinical academic, trained in medicine and public health, with broad experience of public health research and practice, and a national and international reputation for his research and leadership. He has an interest in developing research on the influence of the food industry, the impact of social and policy interventions on diet, and the population impact of individual level interventions.
Speaking about his appointment, he said: “I am delighted to be joining a growing team within the MRC Epidemiology Unit and CEDAR researching the public health importance of diet and associated public health interventions. Promoting healthy diet is central to tackling obesity and related disorders, which are a major public health priority globally.”
Welcoming Martin, Director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit and CEDAR Prof Nick Wareham said: “This is an exciting appointment for CEDAR and the Unit, and reflects the growing strength and impact of our dietary research portfolio. It has been estimated that 70,000 premature deaths in the UK alone could be avoided each year if diets matched nutritional guidelines, but dietary behaviours are hard to change as they are part of a complex web of personal, social cultural, economic and environment factors. Martin’s experience and expertise will be instrumental in producing not only more first class research but also growing engagement with policy and practice in support of bringing evidence-based interventions to bear on dietary public health challenges.”
Notes
- Martin White starts at the MRC Epidemiology Unit / CEDAR on 13 October 2014. His page at the University of Newcastle is www.ncl.ac.uk/ihs/people/profile/martin.white
- Follow Martin on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/martinwhite33
- Martin White has also been appointed successor to Professor Catherine Law, University College London, as Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research Programme from 1st October 2014. He will combine this role with his appointment at Cambridge University.
- Read more about the current dietary public health research programme at CEDAR: www.cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/research/dietary-public-health-research/
- The Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) is studying the factors that influence dietary and physical activity related behaviours, developing and evaluating public health interventions, and helping shape public health practice and policy. CEDAR is one of five Centres of Excellence in Public Health Research funded through the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, and draws on the expertise of a wide range of scientific disciplines. We are a partnership between the University of Cambridge, the University of East Anglia and MRC Units in Cambridge.