Professor Frank De Vocht
BSc, MSc, PhD
Expertise
Frank de Vocht has over 170 peer-review publications broadly covering the areas of public health, radiation epidemiology, and environmental and occupational epidemiology.
Current positions
Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
He obtained his PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and subsequently worked at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and the Centre for Epidemiology/Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Manchester, before coming to Bristol.
Professor de Vocht is a Committee Member of the UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), where he also Chairs the Electromagnetic Fields and Health Subcommittee. He is further a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands (Gezondheidsraad) and its Committee on the Identification of Environmental Health Hazards, the UK Society for Radiological Protection and its EMF & Optical Radiation Committee, and is one of the UK nominated members of the International Radiation Protection Association Non Ionising Radiation Task Group. He is also a member of the NIHR Public Health Research Programme Research Funding Committee.
Research interests
Frank de Vocht is a Professor in Epidemiology and Public Health, and joined the Centre for Public Health, which is part of Population Health Sciences at Bristol Medical School in 2014. He is funded by the NIHR School for Public Health Research and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West (ARC West).
He obtained his PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and subsequently worked at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and the Centre for Epidemiology/Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Manchester, before coming to Bristol.
He has over 190 peer-review publications broadly covering the areas of public health, exposure measurements and assessment, and radiation, environmental and occupational epidemiology. He has contributed to book chapters on epidemiology, exposure assessment and the effects of electromagnetic fields on humans. His work has been funded by NIHR, UKRI, the European Union and several charities. His current research interests are two-fold: the evaluation of natural experiments in public health, specifically in the context of local policies, and secondly the effects of ionising and non-ionizing radiation on human health.
Frank de Vocht is a member of several national and international radiation protection expert groups, including the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Commission (ICNIRP) and formerly the UK Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE). He is also a member of the Health Council of the Netherlands (Gezondheidsraad).
His inaugural lecture, delivered on March 14 2024, entitled "Evaluations of Public Health Interventions. Skin in the Game?", can be viewed here.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
HEaLth IMpact Of E-bikes And E-scooTers: Baseline Data Collection
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Physical activity is important for physical and mental health. Walking or cycling between places is one way to be physically active. E-bikes are pedal bikes which have a battery to…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/08/2023 to 31/10/2024
PASSPORT: A novel Physical Activity School-Specific PORTfolio intervention evaluated via a stepped wedge design to increase children’s physical activity at a population level
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/03/2023 to 29/02/2028
PReCePT Programme Devolved Nations Extension Study
Principal Investigator
Role
Researcher
Description
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the National PReCePT Programme to increase the uptake of the MgSO4 in English maternity units for the prevention of cerebral…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
01/01/2023 to 31/12/2023
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the physical activity of Year 6 children and their parents: Identifying scalable actions to mitigate adverse impacts and provide rapid evidence to policy makers
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Physical activity is important for health among children and their parents. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated social changes, such as the lockdown, have had a marked impact on physical…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/04/2021 to 30/06/2022
Thesis supervisions
Investigating the use of mentoring in improving the health, educational outcomes and employability of young people
Supervisors
The epidemiology of health and wellbeing in the workplace
Supervisors
Using a systems thinking approach to define, understand, and explore the commercial determinants of dietary behaviour and obesity in adolescence, a mixed methods study
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
01/09/2024An 'alcohol health champions' intervention to reduce alcohol harm in local communities
Public Health Research
A service evaluation of the uptake and effectiveness of a digital delivery of the NHS health check service
BMJ Open
Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the physical activity of 10-11-year-old children and their parents
Public Health Research
Comparison of a radiofrequency electric and magnetic field source-based job-exposure matrix with personal radiofrequency exposure measurements
Annals of Work Exposures and Health
Effectiveness of screening for foot complications in people with diabetes – A systematic review
Journal of Diabetes and its Complications