Daisy Fancourt

Daisy Fancourt is Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology and Head of the Social Biobehavioural Research Group at UCL. She trained at Oxford, King’s College London, UCL (PhD in psychoneuroimmunology), and Imperial College London, and her research focuses on how social factors—such as loneliness, isolation, community engagement, and participation in the arts—affect physical and mental health.

She has secured over £37M in research funding and received major recognition through fellowships (including Wellcome and the British Academy) and numerous international awards. She is UNESCO Chair in Arts & Global Health and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health, contributing to global policy on arts, behaviour, and health, including WHO advisory work and reports on arts and wellbeing.

Fancourt is a leading expert in social prescribing, directing national and international research programs and clinical trials, and she previously led the UK’s largest COVID-19 social study, which informed government policy during the pandemic. She also ran the COVID-Minds network, linking global mental health studies, and served on WHO and Lancet COVID-19 advisory groups.

She has published 300+ peer-reviewed papers, authored books including "Art Cure," and is recognized as one of the world’s most highly cited scientists, with major rankings among rising scientific leaders globally.