Professor of Public Health Research

Population Health Interventions

Qualifications

MA MB BChir MPH PGCAP PhD DRCOG DFFP MRCGP FFPH FHEA

Background and experience

David Ogilvie qualified in medicine from Queens’ College, Cambridge. He went on to train in general practice in Suffolk and public health medicine in the west of Scotland before completing his PhD at the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow. He joined the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge in 2007, where he played leading roles in establishing the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), the Behaviour and Health Research Unit (BHRU) and the Cambridge node of the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR). As MRC Programme Leader he went on to develop and lead a new intramural programme on Physical Activity and Public Health (2012 to 2019) and now co-leads the larger Population Health Interventions programme.

Current work and interests

His methodological interests lie in the design and analysis of population-level intervention studies and in evidence synthesis to guide public health action, combining epidemiological and social science approaches in an interdisciplinary research group. He specialises in the relationships between transport, the environment, physical activity and health and has led several natural experimental studies in this field, including the Commuting and Health in Cambridge, iConnect and M74 studies. He led the development of the harvest plot method for evidence synthesis and the MRC translational framework for public health research, as well as co-authoring the original NICE guidance on physical activity and the environment, the 2012 and 2016 international Lancet series on physical activity and health, and the 2025 MRC-NIHR framework for natural experimental evaluation. He is also a departmental equality champion.

Professional memberships and roles

• Thought leader in residence at the University of Sydney
• Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Member of the Society for Social Medicine

Publications

• MRC Epidemiology Unit publications on Publications Database
• Publications on Google Scholar
• Publications on ORCID

Current and previous grants

• Medical Research Council. Mechanisms for population strategies to prevent diet- and activity-related chronic disease [programme grant]. £2.4M, Apr 2026 to Sep 2030. Principal investigator.
• National Research Foundation Singapore. Health-driven design for cities (HD4). S$12.9M, Oct 2024 to Mar 2027. Co-investigator. PIs: Wareham N, Chambers J.
• Food systems trials for impact on environment, nutrition and health (SALIENT). £5.6M, May 2023 to Jan 2026. Co-investigator. PI: Scarborough P.
• Medical Research Council. Developing tools for population health improvement (BECCA). £200K, Jan 2022 to Dec 2023. Co-investigator. PI: Panter J.
• Medical Research Council. Population health interventions [intramural programme]. £3.5M, Apr 2020 to Mar 2026. Joint principal investigator.
• Medical Research Council. Physical activity and public health [intramural programme]. £3.5M, Apr 2015 to Mar 2020. Principal investigator.
• Economic and Social Research Council. Examining the reach and effectiveness of cycle training in schools using the Millennium Cohort Study. £65K, Dec 2014 to Jan 2016. Co-investigator. PI: Goodman A.
• Lifelong Health and Wellbeing. Characterising patterns and changes in physical activity in older people and their determinants and consequences. £793K, Sep 2013 to Aug 2016. Co-investigator. PI: Griffin S.
• National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research. Evaluating the impact of new residential environments on active living and well-being: scoping, feasibility and pilot study (RENEW). £302K, Jan 2013 to May 2015. Principal investigator.
• NIHR Public Health Research Programme. The M74 study: longitudinal follow-up of the health effects of a new urban motorway (Traffic and Health in Glasgow). £695K, Jan 2013 to Jun 2016. Principal investigator.
• NIHR School for Public Health Research. Cambridge Institute of Public Health membership of the School: £2.5M, Apr 2012 to Mar 2017. Co-investigator. PI: Brayne C.
• MRC Population Health Sciences Research Network. Telling good population health science from bad population health science (Understanding Health Research). £172K, Sep 2011 to Aug 2014. Co-investigator. PI: Macintyre S.
• Department of Health Policy Research Programme. Policy Research Unit in Behaviour and Health (BHRU). £5M, Jan 2011 to Dec 2015. Co-investigator and programme leader for evidence synthesis. PI: Marteau T.
• NIHR Public Health Research Programme. Health impacts of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway (Commuting and Health in Cambridge). £1.3M, Jan 2010 to Feb 2015. Principal investigator.
• Department of Health Policy Research Programme. Evaluation of the Healthy Community Challenge Fund. £892K, Oct 2009 to Mar 2013. Co-investigator. PI: Cummins S.
• UK Clinical Research Collaboration. Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR). £5M, Oct 2008 to Sep 2013; renewal: £4.2M, Oct 2013 to Sep 2018. Co-investigator and programme leader. PI: Wareham N.
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Measuring and evaluating the travel, physical activity and carbon impacts of Connect2 (iConnect). £2.3M, May 2008 to Oct 2013. Co-investigator and programme leader for evaluation. PI: Preston J.
• National Prevention Research Initiative. Availability of and access to physical activity opportunities and links with health behaviours and obesity among adults (APOLLO Scotland). £130K, Apr 2008 to Mar 2011. Co-investigator. PI: Ellaway A.
• Department of Health Policy Research Programme. Population tobacco control interventions and their effects on social inequalities in health. £206K, Nov 2004 to Apr 2007. Co-investigator. PI: Sowden A.
• Medical Research Council. Special training fellowship in health of the public research. £151K, Sep 2004 to Aug 2007. Supervisor: Petticrew M.