Roy M. Anderson facts for kids

Sir Roy Malcolm Anderson (born 12 April 1947) is a very important expert on how infectious diseases spread and how to stop them. He wrote a famous book called Infectious Diseases of Humans: Dynamics and Control with Robert May. This book is one of the most referenced in its field.

Sir Roy first studied how diseases affect animal populations. Later, he focused on human infections. His research has covered many major diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites. This includes important studies on HIV, SARS, foot and mouth disease, influenza A, and most recently, COVID-19. He has written over 650 scientific articles.

Early Life and Education

Roy Anderson was born in 1947. He went to Duncombe School and Richard Hale School. He then studied zoology at Imperial College London. Zoology is the study of animals. In 1971, he earned his PhD in parasitology, which is the study of parasites.

Career and Research

After his studies, Sir Roy worked at the University of Oxford. He researched how infectious diseases spread using mathematical models. In 1974, he became a lecturer at King's College London. Later, he returned to Imperial College London. There, he became a Professor of Parasite Ecology in 1982. He also led the Department of Biology for many years.

In 1993, Sir Roy moved to the University of Oxford. He became the head of the Zoology department. He also started the Wellcome Centre for the Epidemiology of Infectious Disease. This was the first center in the UK focused only on studying how infectious diseases spread and how to control them.

Advising the Government

From 2004 to 2007, Sir Roy was the chief scientific advisor to the UK Ministry of Defence. This meant he gave scientific advice to the government on defense matters. After this, he went back to Imperial College London to continue his research on infectious diseases.

Leading Imperial College

On 1 July 2008, Sir Roy Anderson became the head of Imperial College London. This role is called the Rector. As Rector, he worked to make teaching and research even stronger at the university. He also helped get a new site in West London for more research and teaching facilities. He also helped create a new medical school in Singapore. In 2009, he decided to leave this role to focus more on his scientific research about global health.

Fighting Neglected Diseases

In 2013, Sir Roy started the London Centre for Neglected Tropical Diseases (LCNTDR). These are diseases that affect many people in poorer parts of the world but often don't get enough attention. The center brings together experts from different universities and museums. Their goal is to research and help control these diseases.

Important Committees and Boards

Sir Roy has been a member of many important groups that advise on public health and disease control. These include the World Health Organization (WHO), The European Commission, UNAIDS, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

As of July 2025, he is a Vice-President of Fauna Flora International. He also leads the London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research. He is a trustee for the Banga Trust and the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences.

He has also served on boards for companies like GlaxoSmithKline. He has advised governments and organizations around the world on science, health, and education.

Honours and Awards

Sir Roy Anderson has received many awards for his important work. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1986. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. He was also knighted in 2006, which means he received the title "Sir."

Some of his other awards and honors include:

• Member of the Academia Europaea
• Foreign Member of the French Academy of Sciences
• Honorary Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society
• Weldon Memorial Prize (1989)
• Croonian Lecture (1994)
• Chalmers Memorial Medal (1988)
• Honorary Doctor of Science degrees from several universities.

Personal Life

Sir Roy Anderson married Janet Meyrick in April 2014. He has three step-children. He enjoys walking, traveling to faraway places, studying natural history, and taking pictures of wildlife.