About
Dr Rachel Thomson is a Clinical Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Glasgow, affiliated with the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit. She holds a Specialty Registrar position in Public Health Medicine and retains 60% clinical time for training. Her academic career includes a PhD in Public Health (2023), an MPH with Distinction (University of Glasgow), and an MBChB with an intercalated BSc in Psychological Medicine.
Her research focuses on economic determinants of health, policy modelling, and the health impacts of social policies like Universal Basic Income (UBI). Key areas include mental health inequalities, climate adaptation, and the effects of austerity measures. She contributes to public health advocacy, working-age population health, and gender identity services through her clinical work.
Rachel has received prestigious awards including the Littlejohn Gairdner Prize (2018) for public health contributions and the Mackinlay Prize (2017) for academic excellence. She leads projects funded by the Wellcome Trust and National Institute for Health Research, including a microsimulation model to assess UBI's mental health impacts.
Her work spans interdisciplinary collaborations, with publications in high-impact journals like PLoS Medicine and BMJ. She is part of the Inequalities programme at the MRC/CSO Unit, driving policy-informed research to address health disparities.
