Meet the new Head of School of Life Course & Population Sciences, Professor Josip Car

Please allow me to first say a warm hello, and before I introduce myself, say how much I look forward to meeting our staff and students both in person and online. But even before this I foremost want to say how greatly I admire your contributions to life course and population sciences. As I was going through the School’s website and other media reading about your work, alongside meeting some of you, I was deeply impressed by how amazing and world-changing the science at our School is. Thank you.

What is your background and career up to this point?

In the last twenty-five years I have been fortunate to develop a triple track career of a) patient care as a medical doctor, a GP who is now fully dedicated to public health, b) academic pursuits in science and teaching and c) leadership roles in both academia and NHS; for example, as a Director of Public Health and Primary Care at Imperial College AHSC.

Much of my professional life has been with Imperial College, for which I’m incredibly grateful, and for the last ten years it’s been exciting to live and work in Singapore, where Imperial in partnership with Nanyang Technological University developed a new Medical School. During this time, I founded the Centre for Population Health Sciences and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Digital Health and Health Education. Amongst many things, I was also leading on advancing university students’ population health.

What are you looking forward to most in your move to King’s/as a Head of School?

I'm excited about many aspects of my move to King’s and taking on the role as Head of the School of Life Course & Populations Sciences. Professionally, I'm eager to collaborate with the renowned academics at King’s, whose work I deeply admire. The transdisciplinary approach that the School takes is closely aligned with what I believe is needed to tackle the most pertinent challenges in population health.

Due to its extensiveness and profound impact it has on lives of many population health intrinsically calls for partnerships – I see a great potential for fostering collaborations, nurturing young talents and advancing further world-changing research that makes a difference in people's lives in South East London, nationally and globally.

I'm also greatly looking forward to our return as a family to London after ten years in Asia – immersing myself in the broader cultural and academic environment that the city offers. It's a new chapter, and I'm optimistic about the opportunities and experiences that await.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in science?

Before choosing science, I chose medicine as I wanted to help other people. While it may sound like a familiar sentiment, I was truly blessed to have many wonderful roles models in my life including my father, who was a deeply dedicated countryside GP.

Deciding to pursue science happened for me insidiously – my first step was simply wanting to do a masters to study how one could have a more holistic approach to patients. As I was doing my masters I fell in love with science and the idea that one could potentially with their work help not only the patient in front of them or population of two thousand patients you look after as a GP but have a much wider impact and inform practice of medicine for millions. Or how a health system could be changed and population health improved. This felt immensely inspiring and attractive to me, a PhD was the next logical step and then I never looked back.

What is your current research focus?

Perhaps I should start by saying that my research armoury is health services research, this has shaped the research I do and how I try to answer pertinent questions posed by health systems challenges.

More specifically my research focuses on digital health and within it especially how, for example, health apps and digital therapeutics could transform patient care. There’s so much potential, fun and challenge in these versatile pieces of software. Complementary to this I focus on health data science – especially on data from electronic health records and patient generated data.

What role do you think academics and researchers play within society?

This could also be an exam question for a public health trainee so my answer may be a little bit longer...

In general, academics and researchers play a multifaceted and indispensable role in society with the pursuit of knowledge. But let me try to answer this question from a perspective of population health. Population (public) health researchers contribute to understanding the myriad of factors affecting health, to give a few examples this could be socio-economic conditions, environmental exposures, biological determinants or how health systems are organized and equity ensured. Academics and researchers of these subjects aim to generate evidence that informs and shapes practice of medicine, health policies and public behaviour.

The pivotal role of researchers became particularly evident during the COVID pandemic. However, challenges related to population health, such as obesity, diet, lifestyle, health inequalities, and the accessibility of quality care, confront us daily. – in a way you could say that we have a calling of being guardians of society’s well-being and conscience.

Population health academics often highlight health disparities, bringing attention to the inequities faced by different populations. Our research can influence social change and call for more equitable health outcomes. In essence, researchers in population health are called to be influencers in shaping a healthier society.

Finally, what has been the biggest challenge so far in your career?

Without a doubt balancing between many wonderful commitments at work and family life. It’s an ultimate test for many academics, I think.

Secondly, I would say that whilst being a doctor and a scientist those two roles enrich each other they each also call for full commitment. Especially, with rapid advances of modern medicine and science it is challenging to keep up to date with the breadth and depth of knowledge in many specialties whilst pursuing a scientific career. Yet, it’s also enormously rewarding.