Professor Anne Johnson receives damehood in Queen's Birthday Honours

Anne M.

Johnson (MD FMedSci FRCP FFPH FRCGP), Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, has been awarded a damehood in the Queen's Birthday Honours for 2013.

Professor Johnson is  Chair of the Grand Challenge for Global Health and Chair of the SLMS Population Health Domain. From 2002-2010 she was Head of the Department of Primary care and Population Sciences and then Director of the Division of Population Health.

After training in medicine in Cambridge and Newcastle, she specialised in Epidemiology and Public Health, joining Middlesex Hospital  Medical School as Lecturer in 1985.

She has worked in research in the epidemiology and prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted infections and other infectious diseases for over 25 years. She co-directed the Medical Research Council, UK Centre for Co-ordinating Epidemiological Studies of HIV and AIDS from 1985 until 1999.

Professor Johnson was principal investigator on the first National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal 1990), Natsal 2000 and on MRC/Wellcome Trust funded Natsal 2010. Her current research portfolio includes international HIV cohort studies, behavioural intervention studies and a community study of the epidemiological and immunological determinants of seasonal influenza transmission (MRC Fluwatch).

Her studies include collaborations with colleagues in Europe, Africa and China. She has advised a number of national and international bodies fulfilling roles as Deputy Chair of the MRC Infection and Immunity Board from 2004-2007, Member of Department of Trade and Industry Expert Advisory Group, Foresight Detection and Identification of Infectious Diseases Project from 2004-2007, Member of the DoH Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance from 2001-2007 and Member Working Party on Public Health: Ethical Issues (Nuffield Council for Bioethics) in 2007.

She was Chair of the MRC Population Health Sciences Group and member of the MRC Strategy Board until  from 2008- 2010 and a member of the Adaptation Sub-committee of the Committee on Climate Change.

In 2011 Professor Johnson was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Wellcome Trust and is a former non-Executive Director of the Whittington NHS Trust.

Professor Johnson says: "I am surprised and delighted to receive this award. I have been lucky enough to work with wonderful colleagues and mentors at UCL for over 25 years and this honour should be seen to recognise them all."

Professor Andrew Steptoe, Director of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, says: "This award is a wonderful acknowledgement of the major contribution that Anne has made to population health and to biomedical research strategy both at UCL and nationally.

"Anne has combined a ground-breaking career in sexual behaviour research and infectious disease epidemiology with key roles at the Wellcome Trust, MRC and other organisations. I am delighted that her hard work and dedication have been recognised in this way."

A full list of members of the UCL community included in the Queen's Birthday Honours will be published shortly.

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Image caption: Professor Anne Johnson, (C) Kirsten Holst