NIHR Doctoral Fellow
Aetiology and Mechanisms of Diabetes and Related Metabolic Disorders of Later Life
Current work and interests
Annalan is a NIHR Doctoral Fellow at the IMS Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. His research focuses on advancing methodological approaches in air pollution epidemiology and to support more equitable public health policy. His fellowship aims to improve how air pollution exposure and related health risks are measured, moving beyond traditional approaches that rely on residential location alone. Using large cohort studies he is developing methods that account for individual movement patterns and differences in susceptibility. His work also seeks to refine risk estimates for cardiometabolic disease, including heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, and to model how pollution reduction policies may differentially affect population subgroups.
His broader academic interests include environmental epidemiology, infectious disease epidemiology, and health system strengthening striving for a transdisciplinary approach within in the UK and abroad. He is actively involved in teaching and supervision within the University of Cambridge, Clinical, and Public Health programmes.
Background and experience
Annalan is a Public Health Registrar in the East of England. He initially embarked on a clinical career working as a medical registrar in gastroenterology and acute medicine. During his time in university and clinical training he led field epidemiology studies on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in several countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Experience of this and advising Ministries of Health on their national NTD monitoring and treatment strategies led him to pursue a career in public health. He has experience in research, particularly infectious disease and environmental epidemiology, and clinical education, training clinical and research teams in the UK and abroad.
Qualifications
- Sept 2023 – Membership of the Faculty of Public Health (MFPH)
- Aug 2022 – Master of Philosophy Population Health Science (MPhil), University of Cambridge
- Oct 2021 – Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Oct 2021 – Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Education (PGCert), King’s College London
- April 2017 – Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTMH)
- July 2016 – Membership of Royal College of Physicians (MRCP)
- July 2013 – Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS), Imperial College London
- Aug 2011 – Bachelor of Science in Medical Sciences with Gastroenterology and Hepatology (BSc), Imperial College London
Current and Previous grants
- MORBID: Morbidity Operational Research for Bilharziasis Implementation Decisions funded by USAID (2019). Co-investigator. (£227,026)
- International Science Partnership Fund Institutional Grant funded by UKRI Research England (2024). Co-investigator. (£46,676)
- Doctoral Fellowship at University of Cambridge funded by NIHR (2025). Personal award. (£493,965)
- International Science Partnership Fund Institutional Grant funded by UKRI Research England (2026). Principal investigator. (£46,545)