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Spotlight on... Prof Graham Hart
15 July 2021
This month we hear from Prof Graham Hart (Dean of the UCL Faculty of Population Health Sciences). Here, Graham talks to us about his 10 years as Dean and his plans for post-dean life.
You are the inaugural Dean of the UCL Faculty of Population Health Sciences. What motivated you to take on this role?
As soon as I heard that the Institutes for Women’s Health, Child Health, Cardiovascular Sciences and Epidemiology and Health Care wanted to be in FPHS I knew that we could be the ‘life course’ faculty. This was a hugely exciting prospect. I had great Directors over the past 10 years to work with to strengthen even further the Institutes’ research, teaching and enterprise, and together we’ve done this.
How has the field of Population Health Sciences changed since you became Dean?
It’s become ever more apparent that, whatever the achievements of clinical medicine, we have to work at a whole society level to improve population health. The massive reduction in smoking has sadly been overtaken by obesity as a major cause of multimorbidity. All of our Institutes have a role to play in improved physical and mental population health, and in reducing health inequalities.
What are you most proud of accomplishing in this role?
The creation of three vibrant and successful new Institutes: Global Health, Health Informatics and Clinical Trials and Methodology. They’ve all made huge contributions to human health and add to the amazing story that is the entire faculty. The Global Business School for Health is just starting, but Professor Nora Colton is going to make it a great success. I’m delighted that UCL is 5th in the world in the Shanghai ranking for public health – up from 17th when I first took on the role in 2011.
How have world events impacted on the faculty during your time here?
The 2008 financial crisis was still being felt in Universities in 2011, and so we’ve had to be agile and grab opportunities as they arose. The murder of George Floyd was a key moment, with deep and serious effects on staff, but it has sharpened our resolve to address societal and institutional racism. Covid has of course been hugely challenging, but I’m so very proud of how everyone in the faculty has responded, whether in research, teaching or professional services. They’ve been amazing.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your 10 years as Dean?
You get huge satisfaction from other people’s success, whether in research, teaching, promotions or when they’re just doing a really good job.
What will you miss most?
The people.
As you hand over the Deanship to Professor Ibrahim Abubakar, what do you think are some of the big opportunities (and challenges) facing the faculty? Any words of advice?
With Dr Michael Spence as our new President and Provost, and a refreshed University strategy, there’s every opportunity for the faculty to go from strength to strength. We’ll have to learn to live with Covid, but it has also generated new opportunities and the potential for our research and teaching to be even more impactful.
Ibrahim doesn’t need my advice – he’s an outstanding academic whose wisdom and integrity shine through.
We understand you will continue to co-direct the UCL Health of the Public. Can you tell us more about that?
With Professor David Lomas, Vice Provost Health, leading on a new strategy for health across UCL, multidisciplinary health research and teaching is going to be at the heart of what we do as a University. Health of the Public is there to help make that happen, and I’m looking forward to working with David, and co-Director Professor Dame Anne Johnson, to ensure that we make a real difference to population health – in London, the UK and globally.
Aside from co-directing UCL Health of the Public, what are your plans for post-Dean life?
I’ll still be a Professor of Sexual Health and HIV Research in the Institute for Global Health, and I’m looking forward to working more with colleagues in IGH. I do a lot with the Medical Research Council, and I’m now a Governor on the Board of the Nuffield Council for Bioethics. My husband does the gardening, but I hope to have a little more time to sit in it!
And finally… if you could make one change to the world today, what would it be?
There’s so much that’s wrong – with racism, inequality and global poverty being very high on the list. But we won’t have a planet to live on unless we do a lot more to address the climate crisis.