About Us

The University of Glasgow’s Public Health came into being in 1923 when Sir Henry Mechan endowed the Henry Mechan Chair of Public Health.  The chair has since been held by nine professors with the present incumbent, Professor Jill Pell, being appointed in 2007. The department moved to its present premises in Lilybank Gardens in 1985 and staff are widely involved in teaching and research throughout Glasgow, the West of Scotland and beyond. 

The Public Health research group is part of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing which was formed in 2011 as part of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences. The department is highly active, with research comprising epidemiological studies, health services research, statistics and social sciences and public health intervention studies into diseases and modifiable risk factors of high public health importance.

The department also contributes to both the undergraduate and postgraduate medical teaching and runs the Master of Public Health course. Since 1923 over 1200 postgraduate students have received further degrees in public health and many are now prominent in public health in the UK and throughout the world.