Excellence in epidemiology: A conversation with Nicholas J. Wareham, MD, MPH
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Nicholas J. Wareham, MD, MPH, views his individual achievements as a team effort.
Wareham, director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, was named the 2021 recipient of the Kelly West Award for Outstanding Achievement in Epidemiology at American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions. The award recognizes significant contributions to the field of diabetes epidemiology and was given to Wareham for his focus on the etiology of diabetes and translating epidemiology knowledge into policy.
While Wareham was thrilled when he learned he would be receiving the award, he felt his colleagues deserved a lot of the credit.
“The award is only possible because of the excellent team that I have the privilege of working with at the MRC Epidemiology Unit,” Wareham told Healio. “Although awards like this are made to individuals, they are, in truth, won by teams.”
Wareham recently spoke with Healio about the best career advice he received, the research he is currently working on, and where he believes the field of diabetes is heading over the next 10 years.
Healio: What was the defining moment that led you to your field?
Wareham: I worked as a junior doctor at Guy’s Hospital in the late 1980s where part of my job was to care for patients with diabetes. I worked for Professor Harry Keen, MD, who was a legendary figure in diabetes epidemiology. He instilled in me a sense of injustice about the development of the complications of diabetes, despite clear evidence showing that they were preventable.
Healio: What is the best career advice you’ve received?
Wareham: It may seem obvious, but I was strongly influenced by a mentor who advised me to undertake research in a topic I was deeply interested in and cared about. The context of the advice was about deciding between different possible areas of research early in a career. The advice was really aimed at avoiding getting into a situation of doing research as a box-ticking exercise for one’s resume.
Healio: What area of research in endocrinology most interests you right now and why?
Wareham: I am fascinated by the study of the interplay between genetics, behavioral and developmental risk factors, and disease, but most particularly about how one can use that understanding to inform action.
Healio : Whom do you most admire and what would you ask that person if you had 5 minutes with him/her?
Wareham: Leonardo da Vinci. We know much about his prowess as a polymath, but I suspect that he made many other startling discoveries and insights that we have not heard about as they have not been preserved in history. I would love to hear about them.
Healio: Are you currently working on any interesting research and, if so, what is it?
Wareham: I am fortunate to be working in a number of different exciting areas. I am particularly keen on our research into sustainable solutions for diabetes in Africa, which is anticipated to have the highest rate of increase in cases of type 2 diabetes in the next 30 years.
Healio : What do you think will have the greatest influence on your field in the next 10 years?
Wareham: I think that advances in the scale and depth of population-level data will make it possible to bring data together across different populations to begin to investigate why some populations are so much more susceptible to diabetes than others; an observation which still remains unexplained.
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Healio interview
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