Christopher J Gerry is Dean of the Graduate School of Development (GSD) and Full Professor (of Public Health and Health Economics). GSD is a Development Studies School comprising of 5 research-based institutions and about 50-60 members of the School spread across the three countries of UCA. During the next year or two, GSD will introduce its first postgraduate programmes in climate change and sustainable economic development. At UCA, he is also Director of the Institute of Public Policy and Administration, the Lead of the Naryn Urban Resilience Project and oversees the work of the Office of Research and Development and the International Office. Professor Gerry is based in Bishkek in the UCA headquarters but travels regularly to UCA campuses and research offices in Naryn, Almaty, Dushanbe and Khorog.
Prior to joining UCA, Professor Gerry was Head of Department of Oxford University’s School of Global and Area Studies and Full Professor in Public Health and Health Economics of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. During his time at Oxford (2017-2022) he was a Governing Body member of St Antony’s College, where he also served as Dean of the College for 4 years. Before this, he served as Professor of Health Economics at HSE University in St. Petersburg (2014-2017), where he established a successful research laboratory in Health Economics and Policy. Professor Gerry also spent 12 years (2002-2014) at UCL, where he was appointed as Assistant Professor (2002) and then Associate Professor (2007).
Professor Gerry brings a wealth of research and senior leadership experience to UCA. His research has focused on the economics of health, welfare, inequality and labour markets in Eurasia, and he has published widely in many of the leading journals in Public Health, Health Economics and Area Studies. Professor Gerry has also won significant grants from the Open Society Foundations, the British Medical Council and the European Union. At UCA he is involved in projects linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, Resilient Urban Development and the health economics of vaccinations.
Professor Gerry received his BA (first class) and MA (merit) in Economics from the University of East Anglia in 1996 and 1997 respectively and his PhD in Economics, from University of Essex, in 2003.
