History of IEHC
The Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care (previously Division of Population Health) was created in 2011 when the Faculty of Population Health Sciences was established. The Institute now encompasses four research departments (Applied Health Research, Epidemiology and Public Health, Primary Care and Population Health and, since 2017, Behavioural Science and Health). Professor Andrew Steptoe held the position of Institute Director between 2011 – 2016 and Professor Andrew Hayward held this role between 2017 – 2023. From April 2023 the Institute Director is Professor Fiona Stevenson.
Our principal research themes
Based within the Faculty of Population Health Sciences, the UCL Institute for Epidemiology and Health Care (IEHC) is the thriving research and teaching community at the heart of UCL's Grand Challenge of Human Wellbeing.
IEHC's vision is to understand the determinants of health & disease in populations & in patients in clinical settings, to evaluate strategies for the prevention & treatment of physical ill health, and to strengthen teaching and capacity in population health.
The Institute has an internationally competitive research programme focused on:
- Understanding the determinants of health and disease across the life-course in populations and in patients in clinical settings, including the investigation of genetic, biological, behavioural, psychosocial and cultural processes;
- Evaluating strategies for the prevention and treatment of physical and mental ill-health;
- Monitoring and surveillance of health and health care nationally and internationally;
- Carrying out innovative work on behaviour change and on the practice of primary care;
- Developing and implementing new technologies in teaching and research in population health;
- Teaching and capacity building in population health research and practice.
- Applied health and health policy research
IEHC in context with UCL
UCL is ranked among the top ten universities of the world. Established in 1826 to challenge the exclusivity of Oxford and Cambridge, UCL was the first British university to enrol women and ethnic minorities on equal terms to men. We have always emphasised the enlightenment and secular principles of our founders who include the philosopher, Jeremy Bentham.