Harry Campbell

Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Public Health

Biography

Background

Current roles

Previous roles

  • Deputy Director, Usher Institute [2016-2021]
  • Joint-Director, Centre for Global Health Research [2015-2021]
  • UK training posts in paediatrics and infectious diseases
  • Experience working in Africa (MRC Gambia), Asia and the Pacific (Solomon Islands)
  • Medical officer / deputy programme manager [CDR – child health]; WHO Geneva
  • NHS Consultant in Public Health

Qualifications

  • BMedSci Hons (1st; Pharmacology; Edinburgh)
  • MBChB (Edinburgh); MD (Edinburgh)
  • MSc (distinction; LSHTM)
  • MRCP / FRCP; MFPH / FFPH; FRSE, FMedSci

Undergraduate teaching

Professor Campbell has supervised 1-4 BMedSci (Hons) students and 1-2 MPH students each year. 

Postgraduate teaching

Postgraduate

He runs an MPH course on global health epidemiology, teaches on 2 other MPH courses and supervises 1-2 MPH student dissertations per year. He has acted as the chair of the MPH Board of Examiners meetings until 2020. He also teaches on other post-graduate courses. Professor Campbell has acted as external examiner in several institutions, most recently for Imperial College London and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Postgraduate Research

He supervises 1 PhD student currently.  In the past he has supervised >25 PhD students, either as first or second supervisor, in global (child) health, colorectal cancer (genetic) epidemiology and genetic epidemiology. He acts as informal mentor to several staff, Chancellors Fellows and other early career researchers. He was co-lead of the Usher Network for COVID Evidence Reviews [UNCOVER] which fosters staff-student collaborations and training in evidence synthesis until 2023. 

Research summary

Harry Campbell has a number of research interests. He is an author on >700 original articles in medical journals and has been listed on Clarivate's Highly Cited Researchers under both genetics and social sciences since 2014

Childhood Respiratory Infections

Long standing experience in many aspects of global child health with a long-term interest in many aspects of childhood respiratory infections. Recent projects have explored global burden of disease, disease surveillance, use of linked routine heath datasets, risk factors and case management guidelines. He was a founding member then deputy chair of the WHO / UNICEF Child Health Epidemiology Group [CHERG] for about 20 years. He has served as an advisor to WHO and other UN agencies on ~100 occasions and is currently active in 2 WHO advisory groups. Recent major grants include:

  1. An EU IMI programme (led by the University of Edinburgh) focusing on RSV disease in children and adults [completed in 2025]
  2. An NIHR Global Health Unit on Respiratory Health [RESPIRE] (where his role is joint co-Director 2017-2026; 2017-2022 with Aziz Sheikh).

RESPIRE was one of 5 UK research programmes which won an inaugural NIHR Impact Prize in 2025.

Colorectal Cancer Genetics

He has had a long-term interest in colorectal cancer genetics and epidemiology. He has held a CRUK Programme grant continuously from 2003 – 2020 with Malcolm Dunlop, Susan Farrington and Evi Theodoratou. He led an EU funded European research consortium of cohort studies in genetic isolate populations [EUROSPAN] which then participated in many international GWAS consortia. He has published ~100 original articles in this research field.

Genetic Epidemiology and BioBanks

Professor Campbell has established population-based studies and biobanks in several genetic isolate populations in work supported by MRC through Programme Grants (QTL in Health and Disease) from 2000 – 2017 with Alan Wright, Igor Rudan, Nick Hastie, Chris Haley, Jim Wilson, Caroline Hayward and Veronique Vitart . This programme continued  from 2018-2025 and is led by Professors Jim Wilson, Chris Haley and Caroline Hayward. He has published ~300 original articles in this research field.

Metabolic Psychiatry

Professor Campbell has helped instigate and has contributed to the development of the research theme of metabolic psychiatry in Edinburgh and internationally together with Dr Iain Campbell, Prof Danny Smith and other colleagues. He was PI on a pilot study of a ketogenic diet intervention [supported by the Baszucki Brain Research Foundation] and is an investigator on the MRC Mental Health Research Hub on Metabolic Psychiatry [led by Prof Danny Smith 2024-2028] and is a member of the MRC Mental Health Platform. He is an investigator on a Wellcome Discretionary Award funded [£7M] trial of the ketogenic diet for bipolar depression [led by Prof Rebecca Reynoulds; 2025-2030]. He supervises a Baszucki Research Fellow in Metabolic Psychiatry jointly with Prof Danny Smith.

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