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York academic elected as Academy of Social Sciences Fellow

Posted on 2 March 2022

Professor Kate Pickett has been newly elected as a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Professor Pickett's research concerns the social determinants of wellbeing. Photo credit: Alex Holland.

The prestigious fellowship recognises academics’ excellence and impact, including their wider contributions to social sciences for the public benefit.

As Professor of Epidemiology at the Department of Health Sciences, Professor Pickett’s research has focussed on the social determinants of wellbeing, with her recent work documenting how health inequalities in the North of England have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Health and wellbeing

With Professor Richard Wilkinson, she co-authored the best-selling books The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better (2009) and The Inner Level: How More Equal Societies Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity and Improve Everyone's Well-being (2018).

Professor Pickett is York’s academic lead for the Born in Bradford study, which tracks the lives of Bradford residents to find out what influences the health and wellbeing of families. The 'Age of Wonder' project, which launched last month, will build on this work to capture the journeys of 30,000 Bradford schoolchildren from adolescence to adulthood.

She is also Deputy Director of the Centre for Future Health and Associate Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, all at the University of York.  Professor Pickett is a Fellow of The Royal Society for Arts, a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health, and the co-founder and patron of The Equality Trust.

Great honour

On receiving the award, Professor Pickett said: "It's a great honour to be elected as a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. The past two years have shone a light on the importance of research in the social sciences for supporting and promoting the health and social and economic wellbeing of populations across the globe.  

"Social sciences research can help us develop strong and resilient societies and help us create positive social policy and social change to address ongoing and unforeseen challenges. I look forward to supporting the Academy in championing the social sciences."

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor Matthias Ruth said: "Kate's election as a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences is tribute to her wide-ranging and transformative work on issues of health and wellbeing, and their social and environmental determinants.

"The deep insights her research has generated into the drivers behind health inequalities, and the actions that can help overcome them, have not only made profound contributions to the social sciences, but to the lives and livelihoods of so many in our communities regionally, nationally and beyond.”

Professor Pickett is one of 47 leading social scientists to have been conferred to the Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences. 

The Academy’s Fellowship includes distinguished social scientists from academia and the public, private and third sectors. Through leadership, scholarship, applied research, policymaking, and practice, they have helped deepen understanding of some of the toughest challenges facing our society and the world.

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