Mariachiara Di Cesare is Professor in Population Studies and Global Health at the University of Essex and a researcher in the NIHR ARC East of England’s Measurement in Health and Social Care theme.
Chiara has joined the University of Essex in 2022 as founding Director of the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing where she supports and facilitates research across schools and external partners including NHS, local authorities, and private sector.
Chiara has interdisciplinary work experience in both academia and international organisations. Her research in population health uses and integrates concepts, data and methods from demography, epidemiology, statistics, and social science. Chiara has established leadership in cardiovascular health and health inequalities driving innovation across prevention, treatment, and health systems research. Her work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals including Lancet, Nature, Nature Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, influencing national and international policies, and the development of strategic documents.
She is currently a member of the Independent Expert Group of the Global Nutrition Report and a member of the World Heart Federation where she leads on the World Heart Observatory and the annual report.