Rory Collins facts for kids

Sir Rory Edwards Collins is a British doctor and scientist. He was born on January 3, 1955. He is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford. Epidemiology is the study of how diseases spread and how to control them.

Sir Rory Collins is known for his important work on large studies. These studies look at what causes and how to prevent and treat heart attacks, other problems with blood vessels, and cancer. He also helped create ways to combine results from many studies, which is called "meta-analyses". Since 2005, he has been the main leader of the UK Biobank. This is a huge study that follows the health of 500,000 people in Britain.

Education and Early Studies

Sir Rory Collins went to Dulwich College for his schooling. He then studied Medicine at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, which is part of the University of London. This was from 1974 to 1980. He also studied Statistics at George Washington University in the United States and later at the University of Oxford in England.

Career and Research Work

Since 1985, Sir Rory Collins has worked as a co-director at the University of Oxford. He helps lead the Clinical Trial Services and Epidemiological Studies units. In 1996, he became a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Oxford. The British Heart Foundation supported his work.

The UK Biobank Project

Since September 2005, Sir Rory Collins has been the main leader of the UK Biobank. This is a very large study that looks at the health of 500,000 British people. These people were between 40 and 69 years old when they joined the study. The goal is to understand more about diseases and how to prevent them.

Research on Heart Health and Statins

A big part of Sir Rory Collins's work has been studying heart attacks and other diseases that affect blood vessels. He also researches cancer. He has led many large studies that changed how we use statins. Statins are medicines that help lower cholesterol.

Before his research, statins were only used for a rare condition. But his studies showed that statins can prevent millions of heart attacks and strokes every year. He led trials where some patients received statins and others received a placebo (a dummy pill). These studies, along with combining results from other studies worldwide, proved that statins are safe and work well for many different types of patients. His research has received funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Awards and Special Recognitions

Sir Rory Collins has received many important awards for his contributions to science.

• In 2010, he was made a Knight Bachelor. This means he can use the title "Sir" before his name. This honor was given to him for his services to science.
• He became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2004.
• In 2015, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the United Kingdom.
• In 2024, he was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in health.