Martin McKee

Martin is the Observatory’s Research Director and is based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he is Professor of European Public Health and was Medical Director between 2014 and 2024.

After training in internal and public health medicine, he developed a major research program on health and health systems in countries experiencing social, economic, and political transition, especially the collapse of the Soviet Union, the global financial crisis, European integration, and the Covid-19 pandemic. He is co-chair of the Lancet Commission on Anti-Corruption in Health.

He is among the 1% most highly cited researchers worldwide and his work has been recognized by election to the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, US National Academy of Medicine, and Academia Europaea. He has been awarded honorary fellowships by the UK Faculty of Public Health, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the Royal College of General Practitioners and honorary membership of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health. He has also received many honorary doctorates, visiting professorships, and prestigious awards. He chaired the Scientific Advisory Board of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development and served three terms on the European Commission’s Expert Panel on Effective Ways of Investing in Health. He is a past president of the European Public Health Association, British Medical Association, and UK Society for Social Medicine. 

Recent publications

Sagan A, Webb E, Azzopardi-Muscat N, McKee M, Figueras J. Health systems resilience during COVID-19: Lessons for building back better. Copenhagen: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 2021

McKee M, van Schalkwyk MCI, Greenley R, Permanand G. Trust: The foundation of health systems. Copenhagen: Copenhagen: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 2024

del Rey Puech P, Panteli D, Saund J, McKee M. Demystifying artificial intelligence in health: What health policy makers need to know. Copenhagen: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 2026