London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Professor Graham Medley has been awarded the prestigious Gabor Medal for leading an interdisciplinary team who provided epidemiological modelling expertise during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Since 2017 Professor Medley, Professor of Infectious Disease Modelling at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), has chaired the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) and over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic has represented the views of its members to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

The Gabor Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society and recognises interdisciplinary work between life sciences and other disciplines. This year Professor Medley is recognised for ‘leading an interdisciplinary team of biologists, clinicians, mathematicians and statisticians who provided SAGE with epidemiological modelling expertise concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.’

Professor Medley said: “Public health policy is about improving health, and to succeed, different tools are needed at different times for different problems. It is an honour to receive an award that recognises the value in bringing different views together rather than specialist expertise in one area.”

Professor Medley joined LSHTM in 2015 and his research on disease transmission has included studying HIV/AIDS transmission in the context of societal and political processes. He has also investigated the neglected tropical diseases visceral leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis and multiple pathogens in humans and livestock such as bovine TB, hepatitis B and MRSA. LSHTM combines different disciplinary approaches to solve global public health problems.

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society said, “On behalf of the Royal Society, I offer my congratulations to the outstanding researchers, individuals and teams whose contributions to our collective scientific endeavour have helped further our understanding of the world around us.

“Science has always been a team game, and I’m proud to see such a wide array of skills and specialisms reflected in this year’s medals and awards – I am proud that we can celebrate outstanding scientific contributions in all their forms.”

He was formerly director of the Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases. He is a member of the Neglected Tropical Disease Modelling Consortium and the SPEAK India Consortium. He was previously awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his services to infectious disease control, particularly the COVID-19 response in the UK.