Statisticians often think that our contributions get overlooked, but recent events have brought us rather more to the fore. This particular recognition also emphasizes how interdisciplinary the work is that we do here at the IoPPN, which for me has been one of its pleasures.
Professor Andrew Pickles, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
31 July 2020
Professors Andrew Pickles and Nikolas Rose elected to the British Academy
Professor Andrew Pickles from the IoPPN’s Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics and Professor Nikolas Rose, of the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine and the Centre for Society & Mental Health from the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, have been elected Fellows of the British Academy in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the humanities and social sciences.
Announcing the 2020 fellowships, British Academy president Professor Julia Black declared that she believes this will be the decade of humanities and social sciences, which have the power to shape a brighter and more prosperous future.
86 distinguished scholars with a diverse range of specialisms have been elected to the prestigious fellowship this year, including 52 new UK-based Fellows, 30 overseas academics joining the Corresponding Fellowship and four new Honorary Fellows. Professor Pickles and Professor Rose join a community of over 1,400 leading minds that make up the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences.
Professor Andrew Pickles’ career has spanned natural, social and medical sciences in universities in the UK and US. His research in the field of mental health and neurodevelopment, was strongly influenced by working in Michael Rutter’s MRC Unit at the Institute of Psychiatry from 1986 to 1998. This gave rise to long-term collaborations with leading scientists focusing largely on children, particularly those with autism. Professor Pickles returned to King's in 2010 as Head of Biostatistics and Director of KCL’s Clinical Trials Unit. An important more recent shift has been towards the study of infants and early developmental signals and processes. Much of his methodological work has dealt with longitudinal models for developmental data and the many and varied impacts of measurement error and how these can be overcome. He is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a National Institute for Health Research Senior Investigator and a highly cited scientist.
Professor Nikolas Rose joined King's in January 2012 to establish the new Department of Social Science, Health & Medicine, now the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, and was Head of Department from 2012 to 2018. He is Co-Director of the King's Centre for Society and Mental Health. For the last decade, Professor Rose’s work has focused on the conceptual, social and political dimensions of contemporary life sciences and biomedicine, including developments in psychiatry and the social shaping of mental health.
As well as being a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, he is Co-Director of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health, a joint collaboration between the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London.
I am delighted to have been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy and look forward to participating in their important work on the role that the social and human sciences should play in shaping a positive post-pandemic future, which addresses the multiple challenges of local, national, and global inequality and takes forward the project of social justice for all.
Professor Nikolas Rose, Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London
Professor Sir Robert Lechler, Provost/Senior Vice President (Health) at King’s concludes: ‘Andrew and Nik are outstanding scholars who have made a unique contribution to their field. King’s is proud to have such distinguished and world leading colleagues in humanities and social sciences who embody King’s ambition ‘to make the world a better place’.’
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Professor of Biostatistics and Psychological Methods
Professor of Sociology