London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The broad focus of work in the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health is on the determinants and impact of ill-health, and on evaluation of interventions to improve treatment and reduce the burden of disease. There is a strong emphasis on the relevance of such work to public health and the translation of findings into programme action and health policy. The Faculty is multidisciplinary and we maintain strong interests in methodological research.

The Faculty is organised into five research Departments: The Department of Population Studies, the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, the Department of Medical Statistics, the Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology and the Department of Nutrition & Public Health Intervention. Research is conducted all over the world and is funded from over 70 sources including UK research councils, medical charities, and other organisations.

We have a strong focus on teaching and training both masters and doctoral students. Currently we have 54 doctoral students undertaking a wide range of research. Topics include reproductive health, epidemiology of ageing and eye disease, public health nutrition and statistical methodology.

The Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (ITD) encompasses all of the laboratory-based research in the School as well as that on the clinical and epidemiological aspects of infectious and tropical diseases.

The Faculty is organised into four large research Departments. The range of disciplines represented in the Faculty is very broad and inter-disciplinary research is a feature of much of our activity. The spectrum of diseases studied is wide and there are major research groups working on topics which include:

- HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases
- Malaria and other vector borne diseases
- Maternal health
- Tuberculosis
- Vaccine development and evaluation
- Vector biology and disease control

There is close interaction between scientists in different research teams. The Faculty has strong overseas links which provide a basis for field studies and international collaborations in developed and developing countries.

Funding for research in the Faculty comes from around 45 funding organizations and agencies. Major funders of research include the Department for International Development, Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, BBSRC, GlaxoSmithKline and the Commission of European Communities.

The Faculty of Public Health and Policy is concerned with applying health, social and management sciences to major issues in public health and health services. Research focuses on policy in relation to social and environmental factors in health, and health impact assessment and analysis; the evaluation of activities aimed at health promotion and the prevention of disease; the organisation and financing of health care, the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health care, and quality improvement in health care; and the study of health policy processes.

The Faculty promotes multidisciplinary collaboration, and staff include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, epidemiologists, statisticians, geographers, sociologists, political scientists, historians, economists, psychologists and anthropologists. Our research involves studies in Europe and North America, as well as middle- and lower-income countries all over the world. Our students are correspondingly international.

We welcome applications from students wishing to study for an MSc, a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) or a DrPH (Doctor of Public Health). Research students become members of one of the Research Departments in the Faculty, participating in the full range of the Department's academic and social activities. Students are allocated a Supervisor, and hence a Research Department, based on their research interests and disciplinary area. A comprehensive research skills training programme is provided for research degrees students. Students in the department hold meetings, and social events are organised at intervals throughout the year to encourage students to get to know each other and develop a supportive environment.