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Dr John Ford is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in Health Equity in the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary University of London. He qualified with MBChB from the University of Aberdeen in 2007, DTM&H from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 2010, MSc in Health Services Research (Public Health) from the University of Aberdeen in 2012, and PhD during an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship at the University of East Anglia in 2018. He holds fellowships FFPH, FRSPH, and FHEA. His career includes foundation training with NHS Grampian (2007-2009), house officer at Waitemata District Health Board in Auckland (2009-2010), research associate in the Health Technology Assessment Group at the University of Aberdeen (2010-2012), NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in Public Health at the University of East Anglia and Norfolk County Council (2012-2014), NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship at the University of East Anglia (2014-2018) focusing on access to primary care for disadvantaged older people in rural areas, Public Health Registrar in the East of England (2018-2019), and Clinical Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Cambridge (2019-2022), where he retains a Visiting Fellow position. Since November 2022, he has been Senior Clinical Lecturer in Health Equity at Queen Mary University of London and serves as an Honorary Public Health Consultant with NHS England national team.
John Ford leads research on interventions and policies to promote health equity and reduce inequalities, directing the Health Equity Evidence Centre that uses machine learning to map effective primary care interventions. His interests encompass intervention-generated inequalities, health care workforce inequalities, national strategies such as the Levelling up for Health framework, primary care models supporting those in poverty, equity-focused quality improvement under an NIHR Advanced Fellowship, and hospitals as anchor institutions. Notable publications include 'The COVID-19 pandemic and health inequalities' (Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2020), 'Reducing health inequalities through general practice' (The Lancet Public Health, 2023), 'Levelling up health: A practical, evidence-based framework for reducing health inequalities' (Public Health in Practice, 2022), and contributions to Global Burden of Disease studies on life expectancy and mortality. His PhD research informed an NHS toolkit and animation, earning two prizes for impact. As co-editor-in-chief of Public Health in Practice, he advances evidence synthesis and policy influence, including parliamentary testimony and practical guides for equitable health care.
