Karen Lock BA BMBCh MA MSc PhD FFPH

Senior Lecturer in Public Health

I have an eclectic background. I studied clinical medicine at Oxford, and am a consultant in public health medicine in the UK NHS (I hold the post of Honorary Consultant at Islington Primary Care Trust). I have also studied for an MA in environmental geography at the University of California (Los Angeles) and an Msc and PhD in Public Health at LSHTM.

Affiliation

Teaching

I am involved with development and delivery of the MSc Public Health as public health general stream advisor. I currently teach on two core MScPH modules: Issues in Public Health (term 1) and Principles and Practice of Public Health (term 3). I supervise the research of Masters, DRPH and PhD students and welcome enquiries from any prospective research students. In addition, I am one of the Educational Supervisors on the London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex NHS Public Health Training Scheme, and supervise professional public health training at LSHTM. I hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching for Higher Education (LSHTM).

Research

My current research focuses on upstream determinants of chronic non communicable diseases. I am working with colleagues at LSHTM and collaborations worldwide developing methods to measure contextual environmental determinants of diet, physical activity, smoking and cardiovascular disease in a range of urban and rural populations in countries at all stages of economic development. My other recent research interests include the health effects of fruit and vegetable consumption, and health impacts of agricultural and food policy. I have been involved for a number of years in highlighting the important linkages between agriculture and health research and policy. My most recent research focuses on the impacts of adopting healthier diets for NCDs on agricultural production and trade. I am a member of the management group of the new Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH), an innovative programme to link agriculture and health research for international development. I have previously been involved in a number of food and agriculture policy processes. During 2007-9, I was an expert contributor to the European Commission DG Agri during development of new policy for school fruit and vegetable schemes as part of FV sector reform (SFS). I was a member of the World Bank Global Design and Writing Team for the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) which was adopted at an intergovernmental meeting in April 2008, and have provided input to two UK Government Foresight Assessments including that on 'Tackling Obesity: Future Choices' which was undertaken in 2006-7, and 'Global Food and Farming Futures' in 2010. My early research focused on estimating the global burden of disease due to low intake of fruit and vegetables. This work was published in the World Health Report 2002. Together with colleagues at LSHTM, I have subsequently conducted several systematic reviews on the effectiveness of interventions and programmes promoting fruit and vegetable intake worldwide. I am interested in approaches to support consideration of public health in decision-making across all policy sectors, and have been particularly involved in the development and application of health impact assessment (HIA). I coordinated a project with the WHO European Region and the Ministry of Health in the Republic of Slovenia conducting a HIA of the potential effect of joining the European Union in 2004 on national agriculture and food policies. I have subsequently worked on the improvement of HIA methods, including development of a guide for aiding the synthesis and use of research evidence in HIA together with colleagues across London Universities and the London Health Observatory.

Research areas

  • Health policy
  • Public health
  • Research : policy relationship
  • Social and structural determinants of health

Disease and Health Conditions

  • Chronic disease

Other interests

  • Food And Agriculture
Back to top