Laura Cornelsen

Laura Cornelsen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health, Environments and Society at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Faculty of Public Health and Policy. She serves as co-director of the Population Health Innovation Lab (PHI|Lab) and is affiliated with the Global Health Economics Centre (GHECO) and Centre for Data and Statistical Science for Health. Previously, she held an Honorary Lecturer position at the University of Exeter, College of Medicine & Health from February 2019 to January 2022.

Dr. Cornelsen earned her MSc degree in Health Economics from the University of York and completed her PhD degree in Economics from Trinity College Dublin between December 2006 and January 2012. Her doctoral research focused on the economic impacts of tobacco control policies in Ireland, followed by two years of post-doctoral work at the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH) on agri-health economics.

Her research examines the critical linkages between public health and food systems changes, with particular emphasis on how food prices and health-related food policies influence population health outcomes. She employs sophisticated analysis of large disaggregated household food and beverage expenditure data and utilizes choice experiment methods for prospective policy analysis. Her work spans health economics, nutrition, impact evaluation, non-communicable diseases, and obesity prevention, with recent publications focusing on calorie labeling regulations, food environment changes during the pandemic, and sustainable food consumption patterns.

Dr. Cornelsen has received significant recognition for her contributions to public health research:

• Fellowship in Economics of Health funded by the UK Medical Research Council (2014)
• Career Development Award by the UK MRC (2017)

She currently leads or contributes to major research initiatives including "Adapting To Climate-induced Food Price Shocks In The UK (Climateflation)", "SALIENT PHASE 2", and the "NIHR School for Public Health Research LSHTM - Phase 3". Her expertise is sought after for various review panels, including as a Peer Review College Member for the Economic and Social Research Council and multiple fellowship selection panels for the NIHR School for Public Health Research.

Dr. Cornelsen plays an active role in academic leadership through her position as co-director of the Population Health Innovation Lab (PHI|Lab) and contributes significantly to teaching at LSHTM, where she co-organizes the Economic Analysis for Health Policy module and runs seminars for the Introduction to Health Economics module.