Kate PickettAcademic

Biography

Kate Pickett OBE is Professor for the Public Understanding of Social Science in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York — the first person to hold this title in the UK. She leads the Public Health & Society research group, is Director of the Born in Bradford Centre for Social Change, and is academic co-director of Health Equity North. Her research focuses on the social determinants of health, particularly the effects of income inequality on outcomes including mortality, obesity, social mobility and mental health. She is co-author, with Richard Wilkinson, of the bestselling The Spirit Level (2009) and The Inner Level (2018), and co-founder and patron of The Equality Trust. She was awarded an OBE in 2023 for services to societal equality.

References

1. 1.Kate Pickett – Department of Health Sciences, University of York — Current role, research focus, fellowships, OBE, department contact details and postcode
2. 2.Kate Pickett named Professor for the Public Understanding of Social Science – University of York News, May 2026 — Appointment as UK's first Professor for the Public Understanding of Social Science; membership of UN IPI Consultative Council
3. 3.Kate Pickett – Fairness Foundation — Academic training history, NIHR Career Scientist tenure, Greater Manchester Inequalities Commission chair, Club of Rome membership
4. 4.Kate Pickett OBE FRSA FFPH FAcSS – wilkinsonpickett.com — Most current role title, Health Equity North co-directorship, The Good Society (2026), X/Bluesky handle
5. 5.Kate Pickett – Resolve Poverty

Expertise

Cited on

• Mental health
• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Health inequalities
• Social determinants of health
• Income inequality and population health
• Child health and early years
• Public health policy
• Wellbeing and social cohesion

Notable achievements

• Named the UK's first-ever Professor for the Public Understanding of Social Science, University of York, May 2026 Source ↗
• Awarded OBE in the 2023 New Year's Honours List for services to societal equality Source ↗
• Co-authored The Spirit Level (2009), awarded Publication of the Year by the Political Studies Association and named one of the Top Ten Books of the Decade by the New Statesman Source ↗
• Appointed to the 40-member Consultative Council of the UN-endorsed International Panel on Inequality (IPI), 2026 Source ↗
• Chaired the Greater Manchester Independent Inequalities Commission Source ↗
• NIHR Career Scientist, 2007–2012 Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “Reducing inequality isn't just about economics – it's a public health imperative. The brain changes we observed in regions involved in emotion regulation and attention suggest that inequality creates a toxic social environment that literally shapes how young minds develop.”

  University of York · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Study links greater inequality to structural changes in children’s brains ↗

• “In the decade from 2011 to just before the pandemic, total spending on preventive services for families declined by 25%”

  social epidemiologist · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · ‘I think we feel stuck’: Kate Pickett on how to build a better, fairer, less stressed society ↗

Source references

1. Study links greater inequality to structural changes in children’s brainstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. ‘I think we feel stuck’: Kate Pickett on how to build a better, fairer, less stressed societytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.york.ac.uk/health-sciences/people/kate-pickett/
• Xhttps://x.com/ProfKEPickettpublished here ↗
• Websitehttps://wilkinsonpickett.com/kate-pickett-phd-frsa-ffph-facss/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.