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DR BERNARD RACHET, PROFESSOR OF CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY Inequalities in Cancer Outcomes Network, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United-Kingdom +44 (0)20 7927 2647; bernard.rachet@lshtm.ac.uk |
Bernard is an epidemiologist whose career has been driven by a central question: why do people with the same disease experience such different outcomes, even in health systems designed to give everyone equal access to care?
After qualifying in medicine in France and working clinically, he moved into epidemiological research, completing an MSc in Paris and a PhD at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon. He then spent three years in Montréal as a postdoctoral fellow, investigating cancer risks linked to occupational and environmental exposures and contributing to methodological developments in cancer epidemiology. He joined the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 2002.
Bernard now leads the Inequalities in Cancer Outcomes Network (ICON), a multidisciplinary team dedicated to understanding and reducing inequalities in cancer care and survival. His work focuses on mapping and explaining disparities by socio-economic group, ethnicity, and geography, and on developing the statistical and methodological tools needed to analyse complex, real-world, time-to-event data.
ICON’s research draws on rich, routinely collected data that capture the full pathway of cancer diagnosis, treatment and outcomes. By analysing how patients’ characteristics interact with the healthcare system, Bernard and his team generate evidence to inform targeted policies designed to improve outcomes for all people with cancer. A strong emphasis is placed on visualisation tools to ensure that findings can be effectively shared with clinicians, policymakers, and, crucially, patients themselves.
Patient and public involvement is embedded throughout ICON’s work. They collaborate closely with patient representatives, who contribute to project design, governance and dissemination.
Bernard teaches across several programmes at LSHTM and supervises doctoral students working on cancer epidemiology, health inequalities and statistical methods.
