Professor Andrew Steptoe is a distinguished British psychologist and epidemiologist who currently serves as Professor of Psychology and Epidemiology and Head of the Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health at University College London. Born on April 24, 1951, he received his first-class degree in Natural Sciences from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, in 1972, followed by a DPhil in biofeedback and cardiovascular disease from Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1976. He began his academic career at St. George's Hospital Medical School in 1977 as a lecturer in psychology, rising to become professor and chair of the department by 1988, before joining University College London in 2000 as the British Heart Foundation Professor of Psychology. His leadership extends to directing the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care from 2011 to 2017 and establishing himself as one of Britain's foremost health psychologists with international recognition.
Professor Steptoe's pioneering research has fundamentally advanced understanding of the intricate connections between psychological and social processes and physical health outcomes across the lifespan. His extensive work on psychosocial factors in cardiovascular disease has provided critical insights into how stress, social isolation, and positive wellbeing influence heart health, with implications for clinical practice and public health interventions worldwide. As director of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, he has overseen one of the most comprehensive investigations into the health, social, economic, and psychological circumstances of older adults in England, generating invaluable data that has informed aging policies and interventions. His research program, which spans over 900 journal articles and chapters, has established him as a highly cited researcher whose work on the biopsychosocial determinants of health has reshaped approaches to understanding population health and wellbeing.
Beyond his research contributions, Professor Steptoe has exercised significant leadership in the scientific community as past-president of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine and founding editor of the British Journal of Health Psychology. He maintains influential editorial roles across multiple prestigious journals including Psychophysiology, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, and Journal of Psychosomatic Research, shaping the direction of research in his field. His work as a distinguished educator includes teaching on MSc and BSc courses in Population Health, Biology of Ageing, Health and Society, and Health Psychology while supervising numerous doctoral students who have gone on to make their own contributions to health research. Currently, his research continues to explore the complex interplay between psychological wellbeing, social relationships, and biological processes in aging populations, with ongoing studies examining how positive affect influences health behaviors and physiological functioning in later life.
