Health Protection Agency Director Awarded the Prestigious Alwyn Smith Prize

4 June 2008

Professor Stephen Palmer, Director of Local and Regional Services for the Health Protection Agency, has been awarded the prestigious Alwyn Smith Prize from the Faculty of Public Health. 

The Alwyn Smith prize, which is awarded for outstanding contribution to the health of the public by either research or practice in community medicine, was presented to Professor Palmer on 3 June 2008 at the Faculty's annual conference.

Professor Stephen Palmer was awarded the prize for his strong contributions to communicable disease surveillance and control, chemicals surveillance, including raising the profile of chemicals as a public health issue and his contributions to academic public health and public health training.

He is also recognised for his work in leading the development and co-ordination of local and regional services of the Health Protection Agency and his innovative approach in improving the front-line operations of the Agency.

The award also acknowledges the pivotal role he played in the past as a training programme director to build a Welsh Public Health Training Programme. The programme succeeded in establishing a number of good practices in public health training.

Professor Palmer said: "I am delighted to be recognised by the Faculty of Public Health in this way and it is such an honour for me to receive this prize. This could not have been achieved without the support and hard work of many colleagues working alongside me in the Agency."

Justin McCracken, Chief Executive of the Health Protection Agency, said: "This is a tremendous achievement and Professor Palmer joins a very distinguished line up of previous winners. As a key player in public health the Health Protection Agency relies on the expertise and experience of its employees and to have them publicly recognised in this way underlines the importance of their work".

Professor Palmer graduated in medicine from Cambridge University and trained in epidemiology at St Thomas' Hospital Medical School, CDSC Colindale, Bristol University and the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta. 

In 1983 he was appointed Regional Epidemiologist for Wales and headed the Welsh Unit of CDSC until 1998.  He was appointed to the Mansel Talbot Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Wales College of Medicine in 1998.  In addition to being Head of Department of Epidemiology, Statistics and Public Health, in April 2003, he joined the Health Protection Agency initially as Head of the Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division. In July 2006 he was appointed to his current role in the Agency as Director of Local and Regional Services.

The Faculty of Public Health is the standard-setting body for consultants in public health.

Last reviewed: 24 December 2008