Professor Steven Cummins, BSc (CGCHE); MSc (London); PhD (Glasgow)
Professor of Urban Health and NIHR Fellow
School of Geography
Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8200
Fax: +44 (0)20 7882 7479
Email: s.c.j.cummins@qmul.ac.uk
Steven, a geographer (BSc) with training in epidemiology (MSc) and public health (PhD), joined the department as a MRC Special Fellow in 2003 after spending eight years at the MRC Social & Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow. He is currently Senior Lecturer and NIHR Senior Fellow.
Steven has been Academic Visitor at The Pennsylvania State University (2004) and Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Social Epidemiology & Population Health, University of Michigan (2005–06). He has served on the committee of the RGS-IBG Geography of Health Research Group and the BSA Sociology of Food Group and, at various times, has undertaken work as an ‘invited expert’ for the Food Standards Agency, Department of Health, CIHR, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, Scottish Government, US National Cancer Institute and the US National Academy of Science. He has been a full committee member of the Society for Social Medicine (2006–2009), an appointed member of the Food Standards Agency Social Science Research Committee (2008–11) and a member of NICE PDG on the Prevention of Pre-diabetes (2009–11).
He currently sits on the NIHR Public Health Research Programme Funding Board, is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition & Physical Activity and is Associate Editor of the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
Research interests:
Steven’s primary research interests are in the contextual and socio-environmental determinants of health (particularly diet, physical activity and psychological wellbeing); the design and evaluation of community social and policy interventions to improve population health; the consumer consequences of food retail restructuring; and the public policy implications of geographical research and research is supported by a range of funders. In recognition of this work Steven has been awarded a Phillip Leverhulme Prize (2007) and the Association for the Study of Obesity Young Achiever Award (2009).
Steven’s current work is currently being consolidated and extended under a new five-year National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Fellowship which has allowed the continued development of the Healthy Environments Research Programme (HERP). By Summer 2011 HERP will comprise ten staff and students working on a range of projects including the National Evaluation of the Healthy Towns Programme (funded by DH) and ORiEL (Olympic Regeneration in East London), a major 5-year project investigating the health and social impact of regeneration associated with the 2012 Olympics (funded by NIHR). Full details of HERP staff, students, publications and projects can be found on the Healthy Environments Research Programme website.
Postgraduate supervision:
Current
Natalie Savona (2010–2013) Food systems approaches to tacking obesity. Queen Mary College Studentship.
Claire Thompson (2008–11) Environmental determinants of diet: understanding the mediating role of culture. ESRC CASE Studentship (with Sandwell PCT)
Michael Grayer (2007–10) Bayesian estimation of small area life expectancy. ESRC CASE Studentship (with Havering PCT)
Completed
Jamie Fagg (2005–08) Contextual determinants of childhood self-esteem over time. MRC/ESRC Joint Studentship
Publications:
A full list of publications can be found on the Healthy Environments Research Programme website
Book Chapters
Smith DM, Cummins S (2011) Food deserts in Cawley, J (Ed) Handbook of the Social Science of Obesity. Oxford University Press
Cummins S (2010) Improving population health through area-based social interventions: generating evidence in a complex world in Killoran A, Kelly M (in press) Effectiveness and efficiency in public health: systematic approaches to evidence and practice, p287–298. Oxford University Press
Journal Papers
Ogilvie D, Cummins S, Petticrew M, White M, Jones A, Wheeler K (in press) An evaluability assessment framework for complex public health interventions: five questions for researchers, funders and policymakers. Milbank Quarterly
Cummins S, Smith DM, Aitken Z, Dawson J, Marshall D, Sparks L, Anderson AS (2010) Neighbourhood deprivation and the price and availability of fruit and vegetables in Scotland. Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietetics 23; 494-501
Smith DM, Cummins S, Dawson J, Marshall D, Taylor M, Sparks L, Anderson A. (2010). Neighbourhood food environment and area deprivation: spatial accessibility to grocery stores selling fresh fruit and vegetables in urban and rural settings International Journal of Epidemiology 39; 277–284
Cummins S, Macintyre S (2009) Are secondary data sources on the neighbourhood food environment accurate? Case-study in Glasgow, UK. Preventive Medicine 49; 527-528
Cummins S, Smith DM, Dawson J, Marshall D, Taylor M, Sparks L, Anderson A (2009). Neighbourhood deprivation and the quality of fresh fruit and vegetables in urban and rural settings. Public Health Nutrition 12 (11), 2044-2050
Beaulac J, Kristjansson E, Cummins S (2009) A systematic review of food deserts, 1966-2007. Preventing Chronic Disease 6:3
Cummins S, Smith DM, Dawson J, Marshall D, Taylor M, Sparks L, Anderson A (2009). Neighbourhood deprivation and the quality of fresh fruit and vegetables in urban and rural settings. Public Health Nutrition
Story M, Giles-Corti B, Yaroch A, Cummins S, Frank LD, Huang T, Lewis T (2009) Measures of the food and built environments: future directions. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 36(4) Suppl 1 S182–88
Pearce A, Kirk A, Cummins S et al (2009) Gaining children’s perspectives: a multi-method approach to explore environmental influences on healthy eating and physical activity. Health & Place 15; 614–621
Undergraduate teaching:
GEG4102: Environment, Nature & Society
GEG5107: Health, Inequality and Society: from social medicine to global biotechnology
GEG600: Independent Geographical Study