Professor Laurence Moore has been appointed as the new Director of the Medical Research Council/Chief Scientist Office Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (MRC/CSO SPHSU), University of Glasgow. He will succeed Professor Dame Sally Macintyre, who will step down in October after nearly 30 years at the helm of the Unit.

Professor Moore is currently Professor of Public Health Improvement at Cardiff University and founding Director of DECIPHer, a UKCRC Public Health Research Centre of Excellence, which is a strategic partnership between Cardiff, Bristol and Swansea Universities. He is a social scientist and statistician with a particular interest in the development and evaluation of interventions to improve public health.

Working in multidisciplinary teams and in collaboration with policy makers, practitioners and the public, he has completed mixed methods evaluations of diverse interventions and programmes, which have then had a direct impact on policy and practice. These include evaluations of exercise referral schemes, fruit tuck shops, peer-led smoking prevention (the ASSIST trial), the free school breakfast initiative in Wales and smoking cessation in pregnancy.

Professor Anna Dominiczak, Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow, said:“We are delighted that Professor Moore will join us. He has a long and distinguished track record in public health research and will be a great asset to Glasgow. Research and analysis plays a hugely important role in guiding public health policy and we look forward to continuing our contribution to this area under Professor Moore’s leadership.”

Commenting on his new appointment to the MRC/CSO SPHSU, University of Glasgow, Professor Moore said: “The need to understand the social and environmental determinants of health has never been greater. I am privileged to have the opportunity to join the excellent multidisciplinary team in the MRC/CSO SPHSU at an exciting time in the Unit's development as it becomes a Glasgow University Unit. My intention is that the Unit will continue to generate robust and timely evidence to inform policies, interventions and programmes that aim to improve population health and reduce inequalities in health.”

Professor Sir John Savill, Chief Executive of the MRC, said: “I’m very happy that Professor Moore has agreed to lead the MRC’s flagship social sciences unit, which over the past three decades has thrived under the direction of Professor Macintyre. The work of the SPHSU is instrumental in improving our understanding of the social and environmental impact on human health and Professor Moore is a brilliant scientist who I’m certain will build on this success as the Unit moves into a new era at the University of Glasgow.”

Professor Andrew Morris, Chief Scientist in the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, said: “We welcome Professor Moore’s appointment. The MRC/CSO SPHSU is a vital part of the research landscape in Scotland, and one of the CSO’s key investments in population health research. Under Professor Macintyre’s leadership the Unit has become an international leader in its field and a valuable source of expert advice to decision-makers in Scotland. There is no one better suited than Professor Moore to take it forward to new success.”

Professor Moore will become Director Designate of the Unit on 1 July before taking over as Director from 1 October 2013. 

For more information, please contact Hannah Isom in the MRC Press Office, T: 0207 395 2345; M: 07818 428 297 (out of hours); E: press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk or Stuart Forsyth, Media Relations Office, University of Glasgow, T: 0141 330 4831; M: 07854 034 342 (out of hours); E: stuart.forsyth@glasgow.ac.uk

Notes to editors

  • The MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit aims to promote human health via the study of social and environmental influences on health. The unit is jointly funded by the MRC and the Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates.
  • On 1 June 2013, the SPHSU formally transferred to become an MRC University Unit at the University of Glasgow. More information about MRC university units is available here: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Ourresearch/Unitscentresinstitutes/index.htm

 

First published: 1 July 2013

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