Public health Professor Linda Bauld awarded OBE
Congratulations to Professor Linda Bauld on receiving an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021 for services to guiding the public health response to, and public understanding of, COVID-19.
Professor Bauld is a behavioural scientist whose research focuses on two main areas: the evaluation of complex interventions to improve health, and how research can inform public health policy.
Professor Bauld was appointed the Bruce and John Usher Chair in Public Health at the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute in 2018 and served as Cancer Research UK’s cancer prevention adviser since 2014.
Along with many colleagues working in public health, she has been involved in re-purposing existing research to respond to the pandemic and setting up new studies. She has been advising the COVID-19 committee of the Scottish parliament, joined a UK Research and Innovation rapid COVID-19 research funding panel and worked with the Royal Society of Edinburgh as a member of their Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission.
Perhaps most notably she has worked tirelessly over the past 15 months on science communication during the pandemic. This has involved keeping up to date with the latest data and studies and responding to daily media requests to help the public in Scotland, the UK and internationally make sense of the latest developments and look ahead to next steps.
Professor Linda Bauld said; ” I’m delighted to have been included in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list along with many others who have contributed to responding to Covid-19 in the UK and internationally. It has been a hugely challenging time but one positive element to emerge has been the response from the research community and funders to rapidly set up new studies to answer key scientific questions and provide solutions.
“TestEd is one example of such a study. I am particularly pleased to be working with such an able team from so many different disciplines within the project. We hope to have findings to share in due course and in the meantime I’m grateful to all our study participants taking part.”
Professor Linda Bauld is Co-Investigator in the University of Edinburgh TestEd Covid team, a study currently being opened up across the University of Edinburgh, seeking to develop and establish accurate, cost-effective testing methods to minimise infection and transmission of infection within the University’s staff and student population.
Three other members of the University of Edinburgh were also recognised for their achievements in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for their work in science, medicine, education and finance:
- Anne Richards awarded DBE in recognition of services to financial services, to women, to education and to science.
Formerly Vice-Convener of the University Court (2014-2020) and currently Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity International. - Evelyn Telfer, Edinburgh Fertility Preservation, awarded CBE in recognition of services to female reproductive biology.
- Mhairi Collie, Edinburgh Colorectal Research Group, awarded OBE in recognition of her services to surgery in relation to child birth injury in Sub-Saharan Africa.
