Sir

John Edmunds

OBE FMedSci
Born
William John Edmunds
Alma materImperial College London (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsEpidemic modelling
Infectious diseases
Vaccines
Economic analysis[1]
InstitutionsLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
ThesisThe epidemiology and control of hepatitis B virus in highly endemic areas (1994)
Websitewww.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/edmunds.john

Sir William John Edmunds OBE FMedSci is a British epidemiologist, and a professor in the Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.[1][2][3][4]

Education

Edmunds studied at Imperial College London where he was awarded a PhD in 1994 for research investigating the epidemiology of hepatitis B.[5] He also has an MSc from the University of York.[6]

Career and research

Edmunds specialises in the design of control programmes against infectious diseases,[7] including chlamydia, the 2009 swine flu pandemic, the HPV vaccine, and the Western African Ebola virus epidemic.[8] In 2009, he established the annual online Flusurvey project to track the extent and evolution of UK seasonal influenza.[8][9]

Edmunds is a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG),[10] and one of more than 50 attendees of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) advising the UK government on the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

In a March 2020 interview early in the UK COVID-19 epidemic, Edmunds said that the outbreak "could be very serious ... much more serious than we've had for many years".[11] He has also emphasised both the difficulties in maintaining social distancing over extended time periods, and the key role of herd immunity, saying "The only way to stop this epidemic is indeed to achieve herd immunity".[12] During the loosening of UK lockdown measures in early June 2020, Edmunds said he believed a delay in implementing measures in March "cost a lot of lives", but noted that the data available then was "really quite poor", making decisions difficult.[13] This position on delay led to direct clashes with politician Matt Hancock, the serving Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.[14]

Other activities

Recognition

Edmunds was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to infectious disease control particularly the Ebola crisis response in West Africa.[16] He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) in 2018.[17] He was knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to epidemiology.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 John Edmunds publications indexed by Google Scholar
  2. ↑ John Edmunds publications from Europe PubMed Central
  3. ↑ "What the numbers mean: A chat with Epidemiologist Professor John Edmunds about Covid-19". rcpsg.ac.uk.
  4. ↑ Riley, Steven; Mossong, Joël; Hens, Niel; Jit, Mark; Beutels, Philippe; Auranen, Kari; Mikolajczyk, Rafael; Massari, Marco; Salmaso, Stefania; Tomba, Gianpaolo Scalia; Wallinga, Jacco; Heijne, Janneke; Sadkowska-Todys, Malgorzata; Rosinska, Magdalena; Edmunds, W. John (2008). "Social Contacts and Mixing Patterns Relevant to the Spread of Infectious Diseases". PLOS Medicine. 5 (3): e74. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050074. ISSN 1549-1676. PMC 2270306. PMID 18366252.
  5. ↑ Edmunds, William John (1994). The epidemiology and control of hepatitis B virus in highly endemic areas. europepmc.org (PhD thesis). Imperial College London (University of London). OCLC 1124137767. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.361052.
  6. ↑ "Bio Edmunds - International Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamic - Elsevier". Elsevier.com.
  7. 1 2 Sample, Ian (24 April 2020). "Who's who on secret scientific group advising UK government?". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  8. 1 2 "John Edmunds, OBE". lshtm.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  9. ↑ "About the Flusurvey". flusurvey.net. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group". gov.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Coronavirus outbreak 'could be very serious… much more serious than we've had for many years' – Prof John Edmunds". Channel 4 News. 3 March 2020.
  12. ↑ "Are We Doing Enough?; Reporter to camera Thomas Pueyo LIVE 2-WAY..." Getty Images.
  13. ↑ "Coronavirus: Lockdown delay 'cost a lot of lives', says science adviser". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 7 June 2020.
  14. ↑ "Matt Hancock clashes with leading scientist over warning that late lockdown 'cost lives'". The Independent. 7 June 2020.
  15. ↑ Scientific Advisory Board Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
  16. ↑ "New Year's Honours 2016" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  17. ↑ "Professor John Edmunds | The Academy of Medical Sciences". acmedsci.ac.uk.
  18. ↑ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N2.


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