MRC Epidemiology UnitWe are a department within the School of Clinical Medicine and Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge.
Our mission
Sustainable solutions for healthy people and places
Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a major and growing global public health challenge. The cost of treating these conditions is unsustainable for many health care systems, and they create many broader economic and social difficulties.
Non-communicable diseases result from a complex interplay of genetic, developmental, behavioural and environmental factors that operate throughout our lives.
The Epidemiology Unit’s approach to these challenges is founded on two complementary strategies:
- Developing and evaluating precision prevention interventions targeted at sub-groups in the population defined in different ways, such as stage of the life course, level of risk, or nature of the risk factor.
- Investigating the influences on health for whole populations to inform the development and evaluation of population level interventions.
Together, these strategies are helping us to gather and apply evidence – from our biology, behaviour and environment – that can improve the lives of people in the UK and around the world. Globally we are working with researchers in low, middle and higher income countries in Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Asia.
Our objectives
We are delivering our mission through the following objectives:
- To investigate the causes and mechanisms of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases in individuals and populations.
- To develop and evaluate precision prevention approaches to address the causes, consequences and complications of non-communicable diseases.
- To inform, develop and evaluate population-based approaches to improve health and reduce inequalities in the UK.
- To investigate and develop approaches to improving global public health, particularly in low and middle income countries.
- To build research capacity nationally and internationally in our scientific disciplines and approaches
- To foster dialogues with policy, practice and the public to achieve research impact and ensure research questions are guided by policy need.
The scientific objectives of each of our research groups, initiatives and supporting infrastructure are closely aligned to one or many of these objectives, providing a unifying framework for our body of research.