Professor Sarah Rodgers, Professor of Health Informatics in the Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems, recently delivered her inaugural lecture, chronicling her inspiring academic journey and demonstrating how data-driven insights and community partnerships can transform public health for the better.
The event, held on Thursday 4 October in the University's Rendall Building, was well attended by colleagues, students, and collaborators from the NHS, government, and partner organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside.
Introducing the lecture, Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Louise Kenny praised Professor Rodgers’ “remarkable contribution to improving health outcomes in our communities,” highlighting her pivotal role in initiatives such as GroundsWell – a major UKPRP-funded consortium of which she is Co-Director – and her involvement in establishing Children Growing Up in Liverpool (CGULL), the city’s landmark birth cohort study.
In her lecture, Professor Rodgers traced the path that led her from the West Midlands to Liverpool, reflecting on the “invisible systems” that first sparked her curiosity. After studying Geography and Earth Science at the University of Reading, she undertook fieldwork in Mali, applying spatial statistics to track mosquito migration and its relationship with disease spread — work that deepened her understanding of how environmental systems intersect with human health.
Her postdoctoral research in Rhode Island explored the relationship between tick populations and Lyme disease across the north-eastern United States before she returned to the UK to join Swansea University. There, she led a pioneering study linking home improvements to health outcomes, demonstrating a 40% reduction in respiratory and cardiovascular conditions among older residents following upgrades such as insulation and heating improvements.
Since joining the University of Liverpool in 2018, Professor Rodgers has led several major research initiatives, most notably the GroundsWell Consortium, a five-year, UK-wide collaboration exploring how understanding systems of urban green and blue spaces can reduce health inequalities and prevent chronic disease. GroundsWell’s projects include assessing public engagement in the redevelopment of Dock Branch Park and collaborating with The Mersey Forest — both providing compelling evidence that supporting communities’ access to green and blue spaces is not just beneficial, but essential to public health and wellbeing.
Concluding her lecture, Professor Rodgers expressed gratitude to her colleagues and collaborators, crediting their shared commitment to “turning research into real-world improvements for millions of people.”
Professor Rodgers said, “The future of improving public health lies in understanding the whole system, working together across multiple disciplines, and connecting our communities with data” Professor Rodgers said. “By leading that change from Liverpool, we can demonstrate how universities serve not just as centres of knowledge, but as instruments of wellbeing and progress for society.”
Watch Professor Rodgers inaugural lecture in full