Dr Debbie L Jarvis

Dr Deborah (‘Debbie’) Jarvis is Reader in Public Health at the National Heart and Lung Institute, and Honorary Consultant Physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital, London. 

She trained in Medicine at St Georges Hospital Medical School and after working for several years in hospital medicine in the UK and overseas she entered public health training. During this period she worked with Professor Peter Burney, became a member of the coordinating centre for the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) and worked in local health authorities, gaining experience in control of infectious disease, health needs assessment and commissioning of health services.

Following her appointment as Senior Lecturer in Public Health (King’s College) she continued to study the epidemiology of asthma, allergy and lung function within the context of major international studies. She was also the Public Health Lead for Undergraduate teaching.

In 2005, Dr Jarvis joined Imperial College and as Deputy Director of the Social Medicine and Health Services Research Unit continues her epidemiological research into the prevalence and prevention of asthma, allergic disease and poor lung function in adults in Europe. She coordinates the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, is principal investigator in HITEA and IMCA, co-chairs the Gender Work group in GA²LEN, and is the lead for adult asthma in the Global Burden of Disease Project. Within GABRIEL she represents the ECRHS. She works with Professor Paul Cullinan investigating the occupational causes of asthma in a large national cohort and is a principal investigator in the newly formed MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health. She has acted as subject matter expert for the World Health Organization on the health effects of indoor nitrogen dioxide

Dr Jarvis contributes regularly to teaching and organisation of the Respiratory BSc course for undergraduate medical students, and is external examiner for Public Health at the University of Birmingham.