Nicola was Professor of Military Epidemiology, Director of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), and Co-Director of the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community, as well being Research Co-Chair of the Service Children’s Progression Alliance (SCiP) Impact Centre. She joined King’s College London in 2004 from the Ministry of Defence, having started her career as a cancer epidemiologist. With KCMHR she established herself as an international authority in military and military family health, for which she was awarded the CBE in 2025.
Nicola loved her work with a passion. She had a never-ending amount of kindness, patience and encouragement and an eagle eye for numbers and robust research. She supported so many of us through our careers and in our work with the Armed Forces community, making a huge contribution to the wider research community nationally as well as internationally. Through her close collaborations with many charitable organisations and policy teams she ensured that the work of KCMHR and the Centre for Evidence had real-life impact for military personnel, veterans, and families.
Professor Sir Simon Wessely writes
“Nicola has been cruelly taken from us when she was absolutely at her peak. Our priority now is ensuring her friends and colleagues are supported through this and her outstanding legacy is continued”.
Our thoughts are with her husband, Dan and two children, Mary and Max, and her brother Ali.
Nicola’s close friend is raising funds to establish the ‘Townsend Fear Fellowship in Occupational Epidemiology’ through the Colt Foundation. This fellowship will provide an early-career researcher with protected time to think, learn and produce meaningful work, honoring Nicola’s enduring legacy and her devotion to championing the training and advancement of early career researchers. If you are in a position to give, please consider contributing. The link for the fund is here.
