MRC Epidemiology UnitPhD student
Global Diet and Physical Activity Research Group and Population Health Interventions
Current work and interests
José is interested in understanding how the built environment influences diet and physical activity, and finding policy levers and opportunities for interventions. He joined the Epidemiology Unit as a PhD student in 2024 and is working with GDAR (the Global Diet and Activity Research Network), supervised by Dr Louise Foley. He previously worked as a research assistant at the Unit, compiling data dictionaries for GDAR projects.
Background and experience
José trained as a medical doctor at Universidad de los Andes, Chile. He worked in occupational health and Sports Medicine for a couple of years and then got board-certified in Lifestyle Medicine by the IBLM. In 2020, he and his colleagues founded the Chilean Society of Lifestyle Medicine of which he was vice president for two years.
In 2021, José moved to the UK and completed an MSc in Global Health and Development at UCL. His dissertation focused on the effectiveness of front-of-pack food labels in driving more sustainable and socially responsible purchasing intentions. Before joining the Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge, he worked at the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, researching the effects of urban regeneration on east London communities’ life chances and wellbeing, and coordinating a cross-sector partnership based in London – the London Prosperity Board.
Occasionally, José serves as an assistant lecturer in academic activities for the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care at Universidad de los Andes.