honorary members
2002
George W. Brown
Born in 1930, after several studies he conducted research in psychiatry at the Maudsley hospital on schizophrenia, and he went to the Social Research Unit of Bedford College in 1968, where he initiated a Msc. program in medical sociology, together with Margot Jefferys. His outstanding scientific contribution concerns the analysis of social determinants of depression, based on a theoretical concept and a newly developed sophisticated method of assessing stressful life events. Major books are ‘Social origins of depression’ (1978; with T. Harris) and ‘Institutionalization and schizophrenia’ (1970, with J. Wing). He also developed the concept of expressed emotion which gained interest in psychiatric therapy.
George Brown was Britain’s leading medical sociologist during the second half of the last century. He was appointed Officer of the British Empire in 1995 and received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Essex in 2002, in addition to his ESHMS award
1998
Wim van den heuvel
Prof. Dr. Wim J.A. van den Heuvel (born 1943 in Nuenen, the Netherlands) is a distinguished medical sociologist. He earned his M.A. (1969) and Ph.D. (1973; thesis on “Adjustment in Nursing Homes”) from Radboud University Nijmegen and began his academic career as Assistant Professor in Social Medicine and Gerontology (1969–1975).
From 1976 to 1980 he directed the Institute of Social Oncology (Dutch Cancer Society), before his appointment in 1979 by Queen Juliana as Professor of Medical Sociology at the University of Groningen—where he also served as Scientific Director of its Northern Centre for Health Research (1989–1997). Between 2000 and 2005, he was additionally a Professor at Maastricht University in Rehabilitation and Handicap, and Scientific Director of the Care research school CaRe.
An internationally renowned scholar, he supervised over 60 Ph.D. candidates and coordinated multiple EU and bilateral research initiatives across Europe. He has received numerous honours—including the Academy Medal (University of Groningen), the Officer in the Royal Order of Orange-Nassau, and was named an Honorary Member of the European Society of Health and Medical Sociology in 1998 —highlighting his leadership across health sociology, rehabilitation, palliative care, and primary health care research
1996
Johannes Siegrist
Born 6 August 1943 in Zofingen, Switzerland, he is a distinguished medical sociologist best known for developing the effort–reward imbalance model of work stress. After earning his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Freiburg (1967, 1969), he held professorial roles in Marburg (1973–1992) and, from 1992, at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, where he directed the Institute of Medical Sociology and a postgraduate Public Health programme, later holding a Senior Professorship in psychosocial work stress research until retirement in 2021 .
A former President of both the European Society of Health and Medical Sociology (1990–1992) and the International Society of Behavioural Medicine (1996–1998), Siegrist was honoured as an Honorary Fellow of ESHMS in 1996 and elected to the Academia Europaea in 2000. His research, spanning over 700 publications and 45,000 citations, has profoundly shaped our understanding of social determinants of health, particularly workplace stress and chronic disease.
Jürgen pelikan
Prof. Dr. Jürgen M. Pelikan (21 January 1940 – 11 February 2023) was a prominent sociologist and public‑health scholar. After studying at the Free University Berlin, LSE, Hamburg, and Vienna, he earned his PhD in sociology from the University of Vienna in 1970 and later completed a Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University . In 1979, Pelikan founded the Ludwig‑Boltzmann Institute for Medical and Health Sociology in Vienna, directing it until 2007. He held significant academic and administrative roles at the University of Vienna, including serving twice as head of the Institute of Sociology .
A global leader in health promotion, Pelikan was Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion in Hospitals from 1992 and later Adjunct Professor at Griffith University (Brisbane) . He served as President and Executive Committee member of the European Society of Health and Medical Sociology (ESHMS), receiving its honorary fellowship in 1996 . His prolific scholarship in health literacy, systems theory, and organisational has had enduring impact on global health promotion.
1995
Judith T. Shuval
Born in 1926, she studied sociology with a PhD at Harvard University (1955). She went to Israel in 1949 where she continued her lifelong scientific career, interrupted by visiting professorships at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She was appointed professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1979, where she retired in 1994. She was a member of the International Sociological Association and represented Israel within ESHMS.
Her main scientific contributions relate to the role of immigration in health and health behaviour. These pioneering studies were performed during the 1960s and continued over decades, with a special focus on physicians immigrated from former Soviet Union. She also conducted research on professional socialisation in medicine, on social networks among elderly people in Israel, and she contributed several main publications to the sociology of health in Israel. She was awarded the Israel Prize for Social Sciences in 1965 and the Hadassah’s Henrietta Szold Award in 1995, in addition to the ESHMS award
1984
Margot Jefferys
She was born in 1916 and started her academic work with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1953. In 1968 she entered the Social Research Unit of Bedford College, London, at the same time as George Brown. During her active time (until 1982) she had a leading role in establishing the subdiscipline of medical sociology within British universities, supported by her strong links to the medical field. She was also among the key supporters of the development of medical sociology at the European level. Among her publications two books stand out: ‘An anatomy of social welfare’ (1965) and ‘Rethinking general practice’ (1983).
In 1984 she was appointed Fellow of the Royal Academy of Physicians, in addition to her ESHMS award. She died in 1999