Mark Collinson

Mark Collinson

Mark A. Collinson is a Senior Researcher at the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, University of Witwatersrand.  Mark was co-instrumental in establishing the MRC/Wits Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System in South Africa in 1992, and has led the INDEPTH Network Migration, Urbanisation and Health Working Group since 2003.

Mark pioneered the use of health and demographic surveillance systems to study migration, livelihoods and health and has built capacity for this in Africa and Asia. He is PI of a multi-country project advancing knowledge on migration, urbanisation and health, called the Multi-centre Analysis of the Dynamics of Internal Migration and Health (MADIMAH). He is co-PI of an NIH R01 award called “Migration, Urbanisation and Health in Transition settings” which follows rural migrants to keep track of their health and economic outcomes. He is co-investigator of a NIA P01 award called ‘Healthy Ageing in Africa: Longitudinal Studies of INDEPTH Communities (HAALSI)’, responsible for keeping track of participants to minimise loss-to-follow-up, and study health and economic consequences of migration for older adults.

In October 2016, the South African Department of Science and Technology launched the Health and Demographic Surveillance National Research Infrastructure, of which Collinson is the selected champion, as part of the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap.

Contact Mark