Research and teaching to reduce ill health

We carry out research and education at the highest international standards of excellence. Our goals are to:

• identify and target the behaviours that lead to chronic disease;
• improve early detection of disease;
• improve the quality of health services;
• deliver first class teaching to medical students, clinicians, researchers and educators.

We have five research themes: Behaviour and Health, Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes, Cancer, Health Services Research and End of Life Care.

Education and training runs through all our work - for medical students and primary care researchers at every level.

The Primary Care Unit is based within the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge, one of Europe’s premier university departments of population health sciences. Professor Jonathan Mant is Head of Unit and our Group leaders are Dr Stephen Barclay, Professor Christi Deaton, Dr Robbie Duschinsky, Professor Simon Griffin, Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, Professor Theresa Marteau, Professor Stephen Sutton and Dr Fiona Walter.

The PCU is a member of the NIHR School for Primary Care Research, which is a partnership between eight leading academic centres for primary care research in England.

See more about the NIHR School for Primary Care Research in Cambridge

Patient and public involvement in research

Patients and the public are key to the design and conduct of research within the Primary Care Unit.

See resources for researchers and read our latest blogs about public engagement.

See our public engagement pages

Teaching medical students

The Primary Care Unit provides teaching to all Cambridge medical students.

We deliver clinical teaching in general practice, and cover professional skills and palliative care.

Read more

PCU Profiles

"In our research group, the focus is on the social factors that influence families and children, especially those that exert an influence early in a child’s life".

Learn more about the Applied Social Science Group with Dr Sophie Reijman in our latest profile.

Read about our researchers