Jonathan Emberson

Jonathan is Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology at CTSU within Oxford Population Health. His research focuses on studying the causes and prevention of cardiovascular and other diseases through the design, conduct, analysis and interpretation of large-scale observational cohort studies, randomised controlled trials, and individual-participant-data meta-analyses of both types of study.

His contributions to meta-analyses have led to worldwide changes in the use of aspirin, statins, and blood pressure lowering drugs for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, as well as the use of thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute ischaemic stroke. In addition, his work on the RECOVERY trial revealed how dexamethasone substantially reduced mortality for the sickest patients hospitalised for COVID-19.

Jonathan’s research in epidemiology is focused on the Mexico City Prospective Study where, together with his research team, he is investigating the genetic and non-genetic causes of premature morbidity and mortality (and the pathways through which those causes are mediated) in a cohort of 150,000 Mexican adults. Jonathan has been the UK Principal Investigator of this study since 2013, during which time several key discoveries have been made related to the impact on health of diabetes, adiposity, lifestyle and other factors.

Prior to joining CTSU in 2004, Jonathan obtained his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and his MSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Oxford, obtained his PhD in Epidemiology from University College London, and worked in clinical trials and epidemiology at both the University of Sydney and University College London. He has supervised students at both MSc and DPhil level, and is co-lead of the Clinical Trials and Meta-Analysis module of NDPH’s MSc in Global Health Science and Epidemiology.