John Aston

Biography

John is Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life at the University of Cambridge, where he leads research into the use of quantitative evidence in public policy making, works with those in public life to ensure the best methods are used, and aims to improve the use of statistics and other quantitative evidence in public policy debates. He also works in the areas of statistics in healthcare, particularly medical imaging, and he is Co-Director of the Cambridge Mathematics of Information in Healthcare Hub. His methodological research areas include functional data analysis, time series analysis and statistical imaging. He was awarded a knighthood in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to statistics and public policymaking. From 2017-2020 he was the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Home Office, and Director-General for Science, Technology, Analysis, Research and Strategy. He is a board member of the UK Statistics Authority, and formerly was a board member and trustee of the Alan Turing Institute. He also has worked in Taiwan and in the United States. John is the President-Elect of the Royal Statistical Society and will serve as President for 2025 and 2026.