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Prof Andrew Hayward
Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Inclusion Health Research
Head of Department
Epidemiology & Public Health
Institute of Epidemiology & Health
- Joined UCL
- 1st Aug 1998
Research summary
Andrew Hayward is Director of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care and UCL Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Inclusion Health. The Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care includes the Research Departments of Epidemiology and Public Health (Professor Hayward's home Department), Behavioural Science and Health, Primary Care and Population Health and the Department of Applied Health Research). Prior to this he was head the UCL Department of Infectious Disease Informatics at the UCL Institute of Health Informatics where he also led the UCL Centre for Public Health Data Science. He continues to work closely with this group which has a strong public health focus using robust epidemiological methods, electronic health records and primary data collection to have an impact on policy and practice. Research on tuberculosis in socially complex groups led to the establishment of the Find&Treat Mobile X ray screening service screening around 10,000 homeless people, drug users and prisoners each year and influenced NICE guidance. Recent work has evaluated pre-entry screening for tuberculosis and he has recently completed the world's first randomised controlled trial of Video Observed Therapy for tuberculosis treatment adherence. In influenza his cluster randomised controlled trial of staff vaccination in nursing homes showed important reductions in influenza and related GP visits, hospiitalisations and deaths in residents, influencing international policy to vaccinate health care workers. He led the MRC Wellcome Flu Watch Study which was the largest national cohort of influenza burden and immunity and showed the importance of children in community transmission, that a high proportion of infections are asymptomatic and that cross protective T cell memory responses protect against illness if infected. This work contributed to national policy to vaccinate children, decisions about antiviral stockpiling and a trial of a T cell vaccine in the elderly. Further research demonstrated that influenza acts as an acute trigger for cardiovascular events, particularly in the elderly. Research on antibiotic prescribing in primary care demonstrated very high levels of unnecessary prescribing and that several thousand people with minor respiratory infections needed to be treated to prevent one more severe complication, influencing national efforts to reduce prescribing. Research on handwashing demonstrated the effectiveness of the National CleanYourHands campaign and the effectiveness of audit and feedback to increase handwashing compliance. He lis co-lead of the Wellcome/DH ICONIC programme which is developing and evaluating the impact of routine viral sequencing (for influenza, norovirus, HIV and hepatitis C) in the NHS. He recently founded the Centre for Public Health Data Science to act as a focus for public health research utilising big data and health informatics technologies. For example this includes a range of research on Inclusion Health aiming to highlight the extreme disparities in health faced by homeless people, drug users, sex workers and prisoners and to develop and evaluate effective health services that can meet their needs.
Teaching summary
Since 2005 Andrew Hayward has led the NIHR Academic Clinical Training scheme for Academic Clinical Fellows and Academic Clinical Lecturers in Public Health for trainees specialising in infection. This role involves support through from initial interest in the scheme, supervision of MSc projects for trainees who undertake MSc’s in Epidemiology or Public Health as part of the training scheme, identification of suitable research ideas for PhD fellowship applications, identification of suitable supervisors for PhDs whether in the department or elsewhere in UCL, supervision of PhDs and mentorship through early career development including support in obtaining research funding and applying for post-doctoral fellowships. In this role Andrew has acted as educational supervisor for 11 public health trainees, 8 of whom have obtained Academic Clinical Lecturer posts. Public Health trainees who are interested in an academic career are welcome to contact him for advice. Professor Hayward is an experienced PhD supervisor for both clinical and non-clinical research students. In 2017 he was awarded the UCL Student Choice Award for Outstanding Research Supervision.
Professor Hayward led the MSc Module “Epidemiology as applied to Electronic Health Records” as part of a new MSc in Data Science for Health and Biomedicine. Professor Hayward co-leads a new MSc module in "Inclusion Health" as part of the MSc in Population Health.
In 2013 in partnership with Groundswell Peer Advocacy Programme he pioneered a new teaching session on homeless health for undergraduate medical students. This involves students meeting and interviewing a panel of people with lived experience of homelessness to support the development of empathy and understanding. The session is amongst the most highly rated of any undergraduate teaching session.
Education
- University College London
- MD, Epidemiology and Public Health | 2009
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- MSc, Epidemiology | 1996
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
- DTM&H, Clinical Medicine | 1994
- London
- MBBS, Medicine/Surgery | 1990
- London
- BSc Hons, Psychology | 1987
Biography
Professor Hayward qualified in Medicine at United Medical and Dental Schools London. He undertook a senior house officer rotation in Public Health in Leicester before joining the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (now Centre for Infection at Public Health England) as a research registrar in the Respiratory Section. He was awarded a distinction for an MSc in Communicable Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine before completing his public health training in London and Nottingham. He was a lecturer in public health at University of Nottingham before moving to UCL as Senior Lecturer to establish the Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Population Health, When he arrived at UCL there was very strong research on HIV and STIs but very little research on other infections within the department. He established a successful group focussing on acute respiratory infections, tuberculosis, hospital-acquired infection, antimicrobial prescribing and resistance and infections in hard to reach groups. He became UCL Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Inclusion Health in 2014. In 2015 he established a new Department of Infectious Disease Informatics in the new UCL Institute of Health Informatics, this move enabled his group to take advantage of the highly multidisciplinary world-class research environment and outstanding opportunities in Big Data research. In 2016 Professor Hayward was appointed as Deputy Director of the Institute of Health Informatics with responsibility for Learning Health Systems and Public Health.
In January 2017 Professor Hayward became interim Director of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care and was confirmed as substantive Institute Director in June 2017.
Professor Hayward plays an active role in Policy and Guideline Development through membership of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation Influenza Subgroup and of the New and Emerging Respiratory Threats Advisory Group. He chaired the NICE national guideline development group for Tuberculosis in Underserved Groups and co-chaired the 2014-16 NICE group revising all national tuberculosis guidance. He is a trustee of the Pathway Homeless Health Charity and member of the Research Advisory Board of the Groundswell Homeless Health Peer Advocacy charity.
