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Persistent health inequalities within countries are of a matter of concern. A dominant feature of the health situation in countries is that health and disease follow a social gradient. In order to tackle health inequalities, we need to understand the reasons for the link between social position and health. Three aspects of social position appear to be crucial for understanding the links with health: money, status and power. These in turn have profound effects on the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and die.

Michael Marmot has led a research group on health inequalities for the past 30 years.  He is Principal Investigator of the Whitehall Studies of British civil servants, investigating explanations for the striking inverse social gradient in morbidity and mortality. He leads the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and is engaged in several international research efforts on the social determinants of health.  He chairs the Department of Health Scientific Reference Group on tackling health inequalities.  He was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution for six years and is an honorary fellow of the British Academy.  In 2000 he was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen for services to Epidemiology and understanding health inequalities.  Internationally acclaimed, Professor Marmot is a Vice President of the Academia Europaea, a Foreign Associate Member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and was Chair of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health set up by the World Health Organization in 2005.  He won the Balzan Prize for Epidemiology in 2004, gave the Harveian Oration in 2006 and won the William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research in 2008.  He is currently conducting a review of health inequalities at the request of the British Government.