Simon Griffin

Professor Simon J Griffin

MB BS MSc DLSHTM DM MDhc FRCGP FMedSci

Simon is a general practitioner who undertakes research, teaching and clinical work. 

Simon Griffin

Simon qualified from the London Hospital Medical College in 1986. He was the first principal in general practice to be awarded a Wellcome Trust Health Services Research Fellowship during which he obtained training in clinical epidemiology and public health at the University of Southampton and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He was appointed as University Lecturer at the University of Cambridge in 1998. In 2005 Simon joined the MRC Epidemiology Unit as Assistant Director and was appointed Professor of General Practice in May 2013.

Simon is a Group Leader in the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and CEDAR (the UKCRC Public Health Centre of Excellence for Diet and Activity Research, Honorary Professor of General Medical Practice at Aarhus University Denmark, Honorary Doctor Umeå University Sweden, Honorary Consultant at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, NIHR Senior Investigator and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

He undertakes two surgery sessions per week as an unpaid Assistant General Practitioner at a 7-partner, 9850 patient, vocational training practice in the centre of Cambridge.

Recognitions & achievements

  • Professor of General Practice, University of Cambridge
  • Assistant General Practitioner, Lensfield Medical Practice, Cambridge
  • Honorary Consultant, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Honorary Professor of General Medical Practice, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Honorary Doctor, Umeå University Sweden
  • Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
  • Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners
  • NIHR Senior Investigator
  • Member, RCGP East Anglia Faculty Board
  • Board of Trustees, Novo Nordisk UK Research Foundation

Research Interests

As a clinical academic the majority of Simon’s research is applied and hence directly relevant to patients and the public. He has utilised a range of approaches, including systematic reviews and qualitative methods, but has generated knowledge and informed policy mainly through the translation of evidence from aetiological epidemiology and other disciplines, in particular behavioural science, into the development and subsequent randomised trial evaluation of behavioural, pharmacological, organisational and policy interventions. His research programme contributes to efforts aimed at reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

He has undertaken over 30 randomised trials, including the first trial of screening for type 2 diabetes. This work has been supported by over £68M in extramural grants, including five NIHR programme grants, in addition to an MRC programme renewed in 2010 and 2015. He developed and championed pragmatic strategies using information routinely available in general practice medical records to identify those at high risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a strategy widely implemented in screening and prevention programmes around the world. He is applying similar approaches to the early detection of cancer. He is among the most highly cited general practitioners in the world with over 370 publications in peer review journals which have been cited over 21,000 times (Google H index:73). He has been winner and runner-up of the British Medical Journal research paper of the year award.

Simon’s diverse teaching portfolio integrates research into under/postgraduate education. He teaches pre-clinical/clinical and masters degree students and is a senior examiner. He has supervised 16 completed PhDs and 24 Master's degrees.