معرفی
Professor Sonia Saxena is Professor of Primary Care and Director of the Imperial Child Health Unit in the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London's School of Public Health. She leads the Child Population Health Theme for the NIHR Northwest London Applied Research Collaboration and serves as Institutional lead for the Children and Families Programme at the NIHR School for Public Health Research. As elected President of the Child and Adolescent Health Section of the European Public Health Association, she leads a network of over 3,000 health professionals in a strategic plan to improve children's health in Europe. She maintains active clinical practice as a General Practitioner in London since 1995.
Professor Saxena's research focuses on improving child health and reducing inequalities through primary care and public health interventions. Her priority areas include preconception pregnancy and parenthood; early years health with emphasis on vaccine preventable diseases and access to primary care; health in schools addressing both physical and emotional health; and long-term conditions including asthma, mental health, and inflammatory bowel disease in children. Her work has directly influenced policy through NICE guidance, UK Child Obesity Plan, and NHS England campaigns to increase vaccine uptake among at-risk populations.
Her publication record shows a strong focus on child health epidemiology, with recent high-impact work on obesity trends (both child and adult), inflammatory bowel disease management, school-based physical activity interventions, and vaccination programs. Her research bridges primary care practice with population health approaches, often utilizing large datasets to identify health inequalities and develop targeted interventions.
- NIHR Senior Investigator award (2023)
- British Asian Woman of Achievement for Science (Finalist, 2019)
- Royal College of GPs/Boots Research Paper of the Year (Medicines for Children, 2014)
- Silver Athena SWAN award (2013, as leader of application)
Professor Saxena supervises multiple PhD students and has completed 14 PhD supervisions. She serves as Child Health Specialisation lead for Imperial's online Global Masters in Public Health and teaches on undergraduate medical courses. She has received consistent positive feedback on her teaching across diverse formats from one-to-one supervision to large group didactic teaching. Her research is supported by multiple NIHR grants, including the School for Public Health Research and Applied Research Collaboration Northwest London, as well as The Daily Mile Foundation.
She directs the Imperial Child Health Unit, which focuses on research to improve integrated care for children and families. Her work has led to impactful projects such as matching GP consulting times to peak children's A&E visits, which lowered urgent care use and avoidable hospital admissions regionally (an NHS England case study). As a Global Burden of Disease Collaborator, her work contributes to international health policy discussions on issues including obesity and alcohol use.
