Brief biography

Raj Bhopal's Brief biography

lI was born in India and raised in Scotland, going to schools in Glasgow.
lI graduated from Edinburgh University in physiology (1975), in medicine (1978) and as Doctor of Medicine (1991).
lAfter house-jobs and general practice I trained in Public Health Medicine in Glasgow. I was appointed lecturer in Glasgow University 1985, senior lecturer in Newcastle University in 1988, and Professor and Head of Department of Epidemiology and Public Health in 1991 in Newcastle University. I returned to Edinburgh as Alexander Bruce and John Usher Professor of Public Health in 1999. I was appointed Head of the Department (now division) of Community Health Sciences in 2000, serving for 3 years.
lI was honoured with the award of the CBE by the Queen in 2001.
lI am devoted to applying Epidemiology to public health.

Why write the book and why put the lectures on the super course?

lAs an examiner of both undergraduate and postgraduate students I was surprised, and crestfallen, to see how many students could not clearly explain the difference between a case-control and cohort study, sometimes even after a year of study. In my duties in the health service I participated in many discussions on why service demands exceeded supply even after new investments were made. Not once did anyone invoke the crucial concept of the iceberg of disease and symptoms to explain this phenomenon - and clearly even those who knew of it did not make the leap from the classroom to the boardroom.
lMy book is deliberately discursive, and not simply descriptive - to help achieve both a deeper understanding and to help bridge the world of theory and that of practice.

lThe book places heavy emphasis on integrating the ideas of epidemiology.
lI reviewed 25 textbooks in the process of writing this one and I believe it fills a gap. (Which book? A comparative review of 25 introductory epidemiology textbooks
J. Epidemiol. Community Health, Dec 1997; 51: 612 - 622. )
lThis textbook focuses on a theme which is the most important in any science, is too often overlooked and which students demand more of: concepts.
lWith the permission of the publishers I am placing the lectures supporting the book on the super course, as I hope they will help both learners and teachers who are using the book in their courses.

What does Concepts of Epidemiology offer?

lAssists readers to understand how methods and techniques contribute to the purposes of epidemiology
lDemonstrates how epidemiology works in various settings
lGives attention to concepts, principles, theory
lFeatures exercises (with answers) embedded in text
lUses examples that are theoretical and applied
lThe text is amply illustrated with figures and tables