Russell Viner, Professor of Adolescent Health at University College London, is an exceptional research leader in population health research with significant contributions to child and adolescent health policy in the UK.
He showed that adolescence is a critical period for the effects of social determinants on human health, and that each 10% increase in secondary educational participation reduces adolescent mortality by 20 per 100,000. He has also been a leader in obesity research improving our understanding of metabolic syndrome in adolescence.
He has been a major contributor to COVID-19 research directly influencing UK and WHO policy on understanding susceptibility, presentation and severity of SARS-CoV-2 in children, transmission in schools and UK vaccination policy for children.