Professor Nigel Unwin (he, him, his)

About me:

Nigel is a public health physician and epidemiologist with a longstanding interest in the distribution, determinants and prevention of diabetes and related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), both in the UK and in lower income settings outside the UK. He retired at the end of July 2026, and is now Emeritus Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology. In the years leading up to his retirement his research interests increasingly focused on the interrelated challenges of achieving planetary health and good and equitable human nutrition.

Nigel began his academic career at Newcastle University, later becoming Professor of Epidemiology there, spent two years as a medical officer at the World Health Organisation in Geneva, and from 2010 to 2016 was based at the University of the West Indies as a Professor in Public Health. On returning from the Caribbean he worked at the former MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, helping to develop their global public health programme, and retired from Cambridge (from the Institute of Metabolic Sciences) at the end of July 2026. He held part time positions at the Universities of Exeter and Cambridge in 2019.    

Qualifications:

• BA (hons) Physiological Sciences (Oxford)
• BM BCh Medicine and Surgery (Oxford)
• DM Research Doctorate in Medicine and Epidemiology (Oxford)
• MSc in Community Medicine (Manchester)
• FRCP (Edinburgh)
• FFPH (UK)
• Certificate in Sustainable Food and Farming (UMass, Amherst)