Professor of Social Science and Health

About the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine​​​​​​​
The Department of Global Health & Social Medicine (GHSM) is a unique interdisciplinary community of students, teachers, and researchers. Together, we explore the complex social determinants of health, illness and ageing. The Department is part of the School of Global Affairs embedded in the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy.

Founded in 2012 (and formerly known as the Department of Social Science, Health & Medicine), we are now ranked within the top 10 sociology departments in the UK. Our internationally recognised expertise, consultancy work and contributions to policy development are utilised by a myriad of organisations and networks.
By connecting social scientists, biomedical researchers, and clinicians, we deliver research-led teaching that investigates the ways in which advances in biomedicine and biotechnology are changing expectations on life and health, as well as the nature of medical practice.

Studying Global Health & Social Medicine at King's equips students with the knowledge and skills required to shape policies and delivery systems in health organisations, governments, and commercial medical sectors around the world. King’s offers BA, BSc and iBSc courses, as well as MA and MSc courses and PhD research opportunities.
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Who we are
Who we are
Our research centres and groups contribute to an understanding of how medicine, health, society and technology collide, at both the global and the local level:

ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health


​​​​​​​The UK’s first major UKRI-funded Centre for Society and Mental Health was established at King’s in 2020 following £8 million of funding awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for its first five years.
The Centre's vision is to develop research to promote and sustain good mental health in communities. We bring together a unique mix of disciplines and expertise to conduct innovative social science research on the impact of rapid social change in mental health.

Our Centre aims to improve our understanding of the complex interrelationships between society and mental health, create platforms enabling new collaborations between disciplines and with societal partners, and work closely with users, communities, practitioners, and policy makers to design and assess novel evidence-based strategies for prevention and intervention. 
ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health
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ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health
In realising this vision, we aim to shift public debate about mental health away from a focus on individualised interventions, towards social practices and policies that promote and sustain good mental health in communities.

This Centre is a collaboration between the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, and the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, in partnership with the University of Manchester (UK), University College London (UK), Mannheim University (Germany), McGill University (Canada), and Indiana University (USA), and with community organisations, user groups, and charities. It is central to our ethos that research and other outputs are co-produced with mental health service users and affected communities and groups.
 
The aim of the Centre is to:
  • Ensure that the impact of social context is central to how we think about, and understand, mental health.
  • Produce innovative research that underpins and informs new initiatives.
  • Work entirely in partnership with affected communities and groups.
  • Train the next generation of world leading researchers.
  • Uncover knowledge that will underpin new policies. We want to help support communities that have generated neighbourhood-level practices to promote resilience and mental wellbeing.

Our Research Programmes:

About the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy
The Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy (SSPP) is home to one of the largest, most diverse and international communities for social research and education in Europe.

We have world leading expertise across social science disciplines, with recognised strengths in security studies, political economy, global health, social risk and resilience, and education and social justice, and we aim for world-leading positions in public policy and governance.

Our global perspective draws on specialist expertise about important and dynamic regions of the world, including the European Union, China, India, Brazil, Russia, and the Middle East.
Welcome to the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy at King’s College London
Welcome to the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy
There are currently around 7,400 undergraduate, postgraduate taught and research students and around 700 academic and research staff, supported by 130 professional services staff. SSPP is international in outlook: our staff come from over 130 countries, with around half coming from outside the UK, and around 60% of our students are from the EU and the rest of the world.

We are committed to advancing social science scholarship to help tackle some of the most important social, political, and ethical issues of our time. We believe our education and research can influence change by focusing on real-world problems, by combining perspectives, insights, and methods from different bodies of knowledge, and by working with our partners in society. We have deep relationships with government, business, civil society, and international organisations, using our position in central London to convene and influence understanding, innovation and practice in the UK and internationally. 

We share a commitment to engaged curiosity and action in an open, collaborative, and inclusive culture.

About King’s College London

King’s College London offers an intellectually stimulating environment, where staff are dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and learning in the service of society. We are a multi-Faculty institution, providing high-quality education, research and innovation across the sciences, humanities, medicine, law, dentistry, and social sciences. As a member of the Russell Group, an association of leading UK research-intensive universities, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards in research and education. King’s is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres spread across its three teaching hospitals.

King’s is one of the top 10 UK universities, ranked 31st in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2021) and the fourth oldest university in England, based in the heart of London. King’s has over 31,000 students from some 150 countries, and over 8,500 employees. King’s is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of about £1BN (2020/21).
King’s Strategic Vision looks forward to our 200th anniversary in 2029. It shows how King’s will make the world a better place by focusing on five key strategic priorities: educate to inspire and improve; research to inform and innovate; serve to shape and transform; a civic university at the heart of London; an international community that serves the world. 

Our faculties:
  • Faculty of Arts & Humanities
  • Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences
  • Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine
  • Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences
  • Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy
  • Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care
  • Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
  • King’s Business School
  • The Dickson Poon School of Law

For further information on our structure and leadership team please see  www.kcl.ac.uk/about/our-people
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