Profile of a Consumate Public Health Specialist, Academic & Consultant: Prof Edward Kunonga

Today we profile Professor Edward Kunonga, a strategic thinker with a passion for public health and the promotion of well-being for the masses.

Having initially gained a respectable university degree as a physiotherapist, Edward quickly came to the realisation that he wanted to help more than just a single patient at a time: He wanted to be involved in shaping the health of populations for the better. He therefore proceeded to gain a Masters degree in Epidemiology from the London School of Tropical Medicine; then undertook further specialist postgraduate public health training, leading to attainment of Fellowship of the Faculty of Public Health. He solidified this understanding with additional training in Lifestyle Medicine. Along the way he sought to have a deeper understanding of the administrative, financial and leadership requirements of running large organisations, which involved the attainment of an MBA with merit, emphasizing talent management, strategic planning, deployment and implementation.

With this background, Edward has been able to work in a number of senior leadership positions related to public health. He has been a coordinator of programs at CHESTRAD, a governor and visiting fellow at two universities, a Director of Public Health at two English councils and a consultant in public health for a number of NHS trusts. He currently serves as a consultant as well as professor at Teesside University. He has also been consulted in an advisory capacity by non-NHS organisations in relation to public health considerations around Covid-19. He also continues to promote proven healthy lifestyle choices and interventions on various platforms including social media.

We can only imagine the amount of hard work that Edward has put into achieving all this. What we can say is that it lends credence to his description of himself and his career objectives on his LinkedIn profile:

I am a passionate public health professional with knowledge, experience and expertise on improving population health, tackling health inequalities and healthcare quality at a local, regional, national and global level. I have extensive public health experience which includes working as a Director of Public health for a unitary local authority in the UK, a consultant in public health/epidemiologist and health care quality expert for the north east region of England and as a freelance public health consultant.

I am very committed to and passionate about improving population health outcomes and quality of life through prevention, early intervention and equitable access to healthcare. I am a strategic thinker with excellent communication skills, demonstrated ability to initiate and successfully manage large scale change.

My special interests are in public policy and its impact on population health outcomes, applied health economics, healthcare quality and addressing inequities in health outcomes gained from working in different settings. I have very strong interests in academia and research.

Should you wish to communicate or collaborate with Professor Kunonga, check out his profile on LinkedIn.