I haven’t posted here in awhile, but it’s not for lack of activity — as of 2 October 2017, I’m now a member of the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow. The Unit, as it’s known around here, will soon celebrate its 20th year of core funding from the Medical Research Council, and produces research covering a broad range of public health themes.
I’m a part of the Complexity in Health Improvement programme, and will be helping the Unit develop a variety of research projects applying agent-based modelling techniques to complex problems in public health, including obesity, alcohol use, social care provision, and more besides. I’ll be working closely with the Unit Director, Professor Laurence Moore, and other members of the Complexity programme to develop these projects.
In typical style the move to Glasgow was hectic to say the least, and despite starting our apartment search many weeks in advance my partner and I only managed to secure a flat five days (!) before my start date. We were lucky enough however to find a very nice flat in Mount Florida, to the south of Glasgow city centre. The city itself is great so far, with plenty of great places to eat and drink and lots of friendly people around, though the weather is pretty bad (and for the UK, that’s really saying something).
All in all, I’m really excited to be a member of the SPHSU now, and even after just a week there are plenty of interesting projects taking shape. Watch this space from here on out, I’ll be making an effort to post more now that I’ve finally made the move!
Dr Eric Silverman 