Academic Lead
Dr Amrit Kaur Purba BA(Hons), RN, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygeine & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Dr Amrit Kaur Purba is a social epidemiologist and interdisciplinary social scientist specialising in the digital determinants of health. Her background spans public health policy, epidemiology, and clinical practice, shaping her systems-level approach to improving outcomes for children and young people in an increasingly digital world.
Her research sits at the intersection of public health, causal inference, and evidence-based policy. She investigates how digital environments - particularly social media and algorithmic systems - causally influence adolescent health and wellbeing, and how these processes may contribute to widening health and digital inequalities at the population level.
Dr Purba previously held academic and research positions at the University of Glasgow, the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge. Across these institutions, she has developed innovative methodological approaches to studying digital environments, including secure data donation infrastructures and the application of generative AI to analyse social media data, generating robust causal evidence to inform safer and more inclusive digital systems for young people.
Her work is youth-centred and community-engaged. She collaborates closely with young people through advisory groups and participatory approaches to ensure lived experience shapes research, policy, and practice. Her research has informed educators, health organisations, and governments, and she advises bodies including the United Nations, 10 Downing Street, and Ofcom.
Her work has been published in leading journals including the British Medical Journal and featured in outlets such as the BBC, The Times, and The Scotsman. She has received multiple awards for research impact and public engagement, including the University of Glasgow World Changer Award and the University of Cambridge “Talk Like TED” Award.