Michael Marmot

Professor Sir
Michael Marmot
CH FRCP FFPM FMedSci FBA
Marmot at 2024 Nobel Week
Born
Michael Gideon Marmot

(1945-01-26) 26 January 1945[1]
London, England
Alma mater
Known for
SpouseAlexandra Naomi Ferster[1]
Awards
Scientific career
Workplaces
Patrons
  • Medsin
  • World Social Science Forum 2015
  • Healthworks
  • CCDE Co-patron
ThesisAcculturation and Coronary Heart Disease in Japanese-Americans (1975)

Sir Michael Gideon Marmot (born 26 January 1945) is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London. He is currently the Director of The UCL Institute of Health Equity.[4] Marmot has led research groups on health inequalities for over thirty years, working for various international and governmental bodies. In 2023, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.[5]

He received the Balzan Prize for Epidemiology in 2004[6] and the Prince Mahidol Award for public health in 2015,[7] and in the 2023 New Year Honours he was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to public health.[8]

Early life and education

Marmot was born in London on 26 January 1945. When he was a young child, his family moved to Sydney in Australia,[9] where he attended Sydney Boys High School (1957–1961)[10] and graduated with an MBBS medical degree from the University of Sydney in 1969.[11][12]

He earned an MPH degree in 1972[11] and a PhD in 1975 from the University of California, Berkeley for research into acculturation and coronary heart disease in Japanese Americans.[13]

Career

He was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution for six years and in the New Year Honours 2000 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, for services to epidemiology and the understanding of health inequalities.[14]

Marmot advised the WHO.[15] He was chair of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH), which was set up by the World Health Organization 2005, and in August 2008 he produced for the commission a report called Closing the Gap in a Generation.[16]

Marmot gave the Harveian Oration in 2006.

He leads the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), and is engaged in several international research efforts on the social determinants of health. He served as president of the British Medical Association (BMA) from 2010 to 2011,[17] and is the new president of the British Lung Foundation.[18]

Marmot served as president of the World Medical Association for 2015–16.[19] During his tenure he faced calls to eject the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) from the World Medical Association, owing to the evidence of Israeli doctors complicity with the torture of Palestinians. He received criticism for not only refusing to eject the IMA but also accepting the IMA's stated commitment to medical ethics without investigating any of the torture claims. [20]

Marmot was elected member of the Academia Europaea in 1995.[21]

Marmot was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to public health.[22]

Memberships

Marmot was elected as a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) in 1989. He became a fellow of the Faculty of Public Health (FFPHM) in 1989, a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) in 1998, and was elected an honorary fellow of the British Academy (Hon FBA) also in 2008.[12][23]

He has been furthermore elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health (Hon FRSPH) in 2008, an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (Hon FRCPsych) in 2013, and an honorary fellow of the Faculty of Public Health (Hon FFPH).[12]

Marmot is a Foreign Associate Member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Research

Marmot conducted ground-breaking studies of heart disease and stroke, comparing Japanese people in Japan (high stroke rates, low heart attack rates) with those in Hawaii and California, where, especially in later generations, the disease patterns became reversed after adopting lifestyle, stress and diet changes.[13] He has more recently led the Whitehall Studies of British civil servants, again focusing on heart disease and other disease patterns. His department includes the MRC National Survey of Health & Development, a longitudinal study directed by Professor Michael Wadsworth of people born in Britain in 1946 and followed up since. There are 120 other academic staff in the department.[24][25][26][27][28]

Marmot has a special interest in inequalities in health[29][30] and their causes, and has been a government advisor in seeking to identify ways to mitigate them. He served on the Scientific Advisory Group of the Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health chaired by Sir Donald Acheson, the former UK chief medical officer. This reported in November 1998.[31]

In The Status Syndrome: How your social standing directly affects your health and life expectancy, he argues that socio-economic position is an important determinant for health outcomes. This result holds even if we control for the effects of income, education and risk factors (such as smoking) on health. The causal pathway Marmot identifies concerns the psychic benefits of "being in control" of one's life. Autonomy in this sense is related to our socio-economic position. Based on comparative studies, Marmot argues that we can make our society more participatory and inclusive to increase overall public health.

In 2008, Marmot appeared in Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?, an American documentary series examining the social determinants of health that drew heavily from Marmot's work on the Whitehall Studies.

In November 2008, Marmot was asked by the Secretary of State for Health to chair an independent review of health inequalities in England, tasked with proposing the most effective evidence based strategies for reducing them after 2010.[32][33][34] The review reported in February 2010 as Fair Society, Healthy Lives.[32]

In 2020, Marmot co-authored Health Equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 Years On.[35] It found that life expectancy is falling among the poorest people and particularly amongst women in certain English regions.[36] Published in the same year, Build Back Fairer: The COVID-19 Marmot Review explored connections between inequality in socioeconomic conditions and COVID-19 death tolls, recommending investing in public health. In 2021, a follow-up report looking at Greater Manchester noted a greater fall in life expectancy in the poorer areas of the county.[37][38] It made recommendations around improving living standards, working conditions and increasing prospects for young people.[39]

In 2022, Marmot warned of the risk of "a humanitarian crisis" the next winter caused by "fuel poverty", which could have long-term consequences mostly for the young and least well-off.[40]

Selected bibliography

Books

  • Marmot, Michael (2015). The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World. Vol. 386. Bloomsbury. pp. 2442–4. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00150-6. ISBN 978-1-4088-5799-1. PMID 26364261. S2CID 27066898. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  • Marmot, Michael (2015). The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4088-7268-0.
  • Marmot, Michael; Wilkinson, Richard G. (2006) [1999]. Social Determinants of Health (2nd ed.). Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-856589-5.
  • Marmot, Michael; Siegrist, Johannes (2006). Social Inequalities in Health: new evidence and policy implications. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-856816-2.
  • Marmot, Michael (2004). The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity. New York: Times Books. ISBN 978-0-8050-7370-6.
  • Marmot, Michael; Wilkinson, Richard G. (2003). The Solid Facts. Copenhagen: World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe. ISBN 978-0-585-49252-0.

Journal articles and research

  • Marmot, M (2021) Build Back Fairer in Greater Manchester[37]
  • Marmot, M (2020) et al. Health Equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 Years On[35]
  • Marmot, M (2010). Fair society, healthy lives : the Marmot review ; strategic review of health inequalities in England post-2010[41]
  • Marmot, M (2008). "Michael Marmot on eliminating social injustice". The Health Service Journal: 15. PMID 19018626.

Awards and honours

  • 2024 Honorary Doctor of Medicine by the University of St Andrews[42]
  • 2023 Appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to public health, 2023 New Year Honours[8]
  • 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Health Award, The BMJ[7]
  • 2021 Good Governance Award, Good Governance Institute[7]
  • 2019 Global Hero Award, World Health Organization[7]
  • 2019 Elected Foreign Fellow, Brazilian Academy of Medicine[7]
  • 2017 Gold Medal, Royal Society of Medicine[7]
  • 2017 Distinguished Merit gold medal, British Medical Association[7]
  • 2016 Awarded an honorary doctorate by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
  • 2015 Prince Mahidol Award for public health[7]
  • 2015 C.-E. A. Winslow Medal, Yale
  • 2012 Lifetime Award Fellowship Eur Academy of Occupational Health Psychology
  • 2012 Patron of Medsin-UK
  • 2012 European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Fellowship
  • 2011 Ambuj Nath Bose Prize, Royal College of Physicians
  • 2011 Medal of City of Lima, awarded by Mayor of Lima
  • 2011 Sir Liam Donaldson Lecture and Medal, Health Protection Agency
  • 2011 Fellow, Association for Psychological Medicine
  • 2011 Avedis Donabedian International Foundation Award
  • 2010 Manchester Doubleday Award, Manchester School of Medicine
  • 2010 Jenner Medal, Royal Society of Medicine
  • 2010–11 President, British Medical Association
  • 2008 Tore Andersson Award in Epidemiological Research, Karolinska Institutet,
  • 2008 William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research[43]
  • 2007 Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Foundation Hero Award
  • 2006 Winner BMA Book Awards 2006 (Public Health)
  • 2006 Harveian Oration, Royal College of Physicians
  • 2004 Balzan Prize for Epidemiology
  • 2004 Alwyn Smith Prize Medal for distinguished service to public health, Faculty of Public Health
  • 2004 Bisset Hawkins Medal, Royal College of Physicians
  • 2003 Visiting Fellow Commoner, Trinity College, Cambridge
  • 2002 Decade of Behaviour Distinguished Speaker, Gerontological Society of America
  • 2002 Patricia B Barchas Award, American Psychosomatic Society

References

  1. 1 2 "Marmot, Prof. Sir Michael (Gideon)". Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press.(subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Michael Marmot". instituteofhealthequity.org. Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Whitehall II". www.ucl.ac.uk.
  4. ↑ About page on the Institute of Health Equity website
  5. ↑ "The American Philosophical Society Welcomes New Members for 2023".
  6. ↑ "Michael Marmot". International Balzan Prize Foundation. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Professor Sir Michael Marmot". Institute of Health Equity, University College London. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 "UCL's New Year Honours including a prestigious Companion of Honour". University College London. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Michael Marmot interviewed by Kirsty Young on BBC Desert Island Discs 6 July 2014
  10. ↑ Profile Archived 23 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, shsobu.org.au. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  11. 1 2 "M. Marmot's Academic Background". Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 "Michael Marmot CV". Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  13. 1 2 Marmot, Michael Gideon (1975). Acculturation and Coronary Heart Disease in Japanese-Americans (PhD thesis). University of California, Berkeley. ProQuest 302770471.
  14. ↑ "No. 55710". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1999. p. 1.
  15. ↑ Rise in life expectancy has stalled since 2010, research shows The Guardian
  16. ↑ "M. Marmot, Chair of CSDH". 13 March 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  17. ↑ "M. Marmot, President of BMA". Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  18. ↑ "M. Marmot, President of British Lung Foundation". Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  19. ↑ "M. Marmot, President of WMA". Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  20. ↑ "Sir Michael Marmot, the World Medical Association, and medical complicity with torture in Israel". The BMJ. 4 December 2025.
  21. ↑ "M. Marmot, member of Accademia Europaea". Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  22. ↑ "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N6.
  23. ↑ Professor Sir Michael Marmot Hon FBA - website of the British Academy
  24. ↑ Marmot, M.G.; Smith, G.D.; Stansfeld, S; Patel, C; North, F; Head, J; White, I; Brunner, E; Feeney, A (1991). "Health inequalities among British civil servants: The Whitehall II study". Lancet. 337 (8754): 1387–93. Bibcode:1991Lanc..337.1387M. doi:10.1016/0140-6736(91)93068-k. PMID 1674771. S2CID 2791924.
  25. ↑ "Intersalt: An international study of electrolyte excretion and blood pressure. Results for 24 hour urinary sodium and potassium excretion. Intersalt Cooperative Research Group". BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.). 297 (6644): 319–28. 1988. doi:10.1136/bmj.297.6644.319. PMC 1834069. PMID 3416162.
  26. ↑ McKeigue, P.M.; Shah, B; Marmot, M.G. (1991). "Relation of central obesity and insulin resistance with high diabetes prevalence and cardiovascular risk in South Asians". Lancet. 337 (8738): 382–86. doi:10.1016/0140-6736(91)91164-p. PMID 1671422. S2CID 21350831.
  27. ↑ Hemingway, H; Marmot, M (1999). "Evidence based cardiology: Psychosocial factors in the aetiology and prognosis of coronary heart disease. Systematic review of prospective cohort studies". BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.). 318 (7196): 1460–67. doi:10.1136/bmj.318.7196.1460. PMC 1115843. PMID 10346775.
  28. ↑ Marmot, MG (1997). "Contribution of job control and other risk factors to social variations in coronary heart disease incidence". The Lancet. 350 (9073): 235–39. Bibcode:1997Lanc..350..235M. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(97)04244-X. PMID 9242799. S2CID 5665244.
  29. ↑ Torjesen, I (2014). "Low paid workers are not paid enough to live healthily, Marmot says". BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.). 348 g1939. doi:10.1136/bmj.g1939. PMID 24594545. S2CID 27705220.
  30. ↑ Boseley, S (2008). "Michael Marmot: Leader in the social determinants of health". The Lancet. 372 (9650): 1625. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61675-X. PMID 18994652. S2CID 13557445.
  31. ↑ "Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health Report" (PDF). www.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  32. 1 2 "Fair Society, Healthy Lives (The Marmot Review)". Institute of Health Equity, University College London. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "Marmot review". Policy Navigator. The Health Foundation. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "The Marmot Review: national and local policies to redress social inequalities in health". University College London. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  35. 1 2 "Health Equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 Years On | The Health Foundation". www.health.org.uk. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  36. ↑ Boseley, Sarah (25 February 2020). "Austerity blamed for life expectancy stalling for first time in century". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  37. 1 2 Marmot, Michael (2021). "Build Back Fairer in Greater Manchester - Main Report".
  38. ↑ "'Jaw-dropping' fall in life expectancy in poor areas of England, report finds". The Guardian. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  39. ↑ "Michael Marmot and Jessica Allen: Building back fairer in Greater Manchester". The BMJ. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  40. ↑ "A generation of Britons face long term illness from being cold and poor this winter". The Guardian. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  41. ↑ "Fair society, healthy lives : the Marmot Review: strategic review of health inequalities in England post-2010". GOV.UK. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  42. ↑ "Laureation Address: Professor Sir Michael Marmot CH MBBS MPH PhD FRCP FFPHM FMedSci FBA".
  43. ↑ "New Years Honours List". The London Gazette. 55710: 2. 30 December 1999. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2008.

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