Director, UCL Institute of Health Equity
Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London,
London University, United Kingdom
President of the World Medical Association
Sir Michael Gideon Marmot has been a pioneer in the field of social epidemiology for over 35 years. His research focuses on the effects of race, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, inequalities and the environment on the health, life expectancy and risks for diseases both within and between countries globally.
He is most recognized for his evidence-based evaluation on the Social Determinants of Health (SDH), i.e. the conditions affecting health, disease prevention and long-term capability development of people from birth through old age, which include socio-economic levels, schooling, fair employment, standards of living and access to healthy environments. This concept of SDH was employed by the British Government to address health inequity issues and strengthened the capacities to provide better well-being, and later spread throughout the European communities. Recognizing the importance of SDH, World Health Organization has adopted it for public policy planning and appointed the Commission on Social Determinants of Health in March 2005, which Sir Marmot was chaired from its inception. His contribution has changed the practices in the formation of health policies to the health equity, thus saving hundreds of millions by reducing the gap of inequities around the world.
Sir Marmot graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from the University of Sydney in 1968. He earned a Master of Public Health in 1972 and a PhD in 1975 from the University of California, Berkeley (USA).