Alongside his research to evaluate and improve public health interventions, Jamie Wong is committed to community building, having served in over a dozen student leadership roles in his 6 years at UCL.
Growing up in Hong Kong during the SARS outbreak, Jamie became interested in “how human health is shaped by social, demographic, societal and environmental factors.” This led him to study for a BSc in Population Health Sciences (Data Science) at UCL in 2019.
During this time, he had the opportunity to work across multiple projects, from supporting evaluations of national obesity policy to helping to deliver cancer trials.
I realised that working across disciplines and trying to engage with people that you wouldn’t normally speak to is where opportunity and impact happens.
Keen to expand his networks, Jamie pursued an MSc in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine before returning to UCL’s Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing for a PhD in Epidemiology.
His research uses real world healthcare data to evaluate long‑term public health interventions and policy changes within NHS service delivery, with a focus on cardiometabolic diseases, “a pressing challenge at the moment and for the future.” Alongside his PhD, Jamie works as a Data Analyst at the UCL Cancer Institute, investigating delays in diagnosis and inequalities in access to specialist care for sarcomas; a rare group of cancers making up less than 2% of UK cancer diagnoses.
Jamie’s impact extends far beyond research. He’s taught both undergraduate and master’s students as a postgraduate teaching assistant and served on over a dozen student societies at Students’ Union UCL. This includes the Photo Society, Students for Global Health and, the one he is most proud of, the Food Society, which he founded and led as President in the final year of his BSc.
UCL is massive, we've got a student population of over 50,000 from so many different backgrounds and cultures. What better way to connect them than through food?
In 2024, a year into his PhD, Jamie was elected as the Research Students’ Officer; helping to combat the isolation that can be felt by postgraduate students and create spaces where students feel welcome and can build genuine, long-term relationships.
For Jamie, his student leadership roles have greatly benefited his academic development.
The presence of these spaces has developed my confidence in terms of reaching out to people and that contributes to my work. I’m very happy to initiate collaborations with people I’ve never met before.
If there’s one common thread running through Jamie’s story, it’s connection.
My work has been about bringing people together and creating communities and collaborations that are greater than the sum of their parts. Some of the most meaningful moments have been seeing friendships continue to blossom long after people have graduated, myself included.
