Lennert Veerman

Dr Veerman is professor of Public Health at Griffith University in Australia. He is a Dutch-trained public health physician with passion for healthy physical, economic, social and natural environments. He has published on a broad range of topics including obesity and other risk factors for chronic disease, philosophy of science, mathematical modelling, genetic screening and the epidemiology of depression. His PhD at the Erasmus University Rotterdam focused on the role of quantitative predictions of health effects in Health Impact Assessment. Upon moving to Australia in 2007, he expanded the scope of his work to include economics, and now has a strong profile in epidemiological modelling, burden of disease studies, and the cost-effectiveness of prevention. As lead of the Public Health & Economics Modelling group in the School, Dr Veerman gives direction to an expanding programme of work in primary prevention, focusing on the impact of changes in physical activity, diet, body mass and other health determinants. Most of this work involves collaboration with other research groups across Australia and overseas, and with sectors other than health care; sectors that are key to improving population exposure to many of the major determinants of health. Dr Veerman is also a highly skilled educator. Now research-focused, he has acted as Program Director for the Medical Doctorate and was previously the Program Director for the UQ School of Public Health’s flagship Master of Public Health program.