'Aspirin man': celebrating the career of Professor Peter Elwood

Professor Elwood spent more than 20 years leading the MRC Epidemiological Unit in South Wales, succeeding Archie Cochrane, and is best known for his work on aspirin as a preventative for heart attack and stroke.

Friends and colleagues shared their memories of working with Professor Elwood across his career, as well as presenting some of their own important epidemiological research. Topics included diet and disease, health inequalities, diabetes and dementia, and – of course – the evidence around aspirin. Tributes to Professor Elwood were led by Professor John Iredale, interim Executive Chair of the MRC, with scientific talks from, among others, Professor Nishi Chaturvedi, Professor Andy Ness, Sir Michael Marmot and Sir Richard Peto.

The event, kindly supported by the MRC, was hosted at Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry and was co-organised by Professor John Gallacher (Director, Dementias Platform UK) and Professor George Davey Smith (MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol). 

Below is a selection of photographs from the event, as well as the full programme of speakers. For high-resolution copies of images, please contact DPUK communications manager Stuart Gillespie.

Individual talks can be viewed on the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit YouTube channel.

Prof Peter Elwood

Prof Peter Elwood with his daughter, Laura (left) and daughter-in-law, Angela

Prof George Davey Smith, Prof Peter Elwood and Prof John Gallacher

Pippa Hutchinson

Prof John Lennox

Prof Nishi Chaturvedi

Prof John Iredale

Janie Hughes

Sir Iain Chalmers and Prof Jonathan Sterne

Katherine Shepherd

Prof Sir Richard Peto

Prof Sir Michael Marmot

Ceri Hughes

Dr Julieta Galante and Pippa Hutchinson

Dame Deirdre Hine

Dr Hugh Thomas

Prof Andy Ness and Prof Stephen Stansfeld

Janet Pickering

Prof John Gallacher

Dr Andrew Beswick