Timothy David Spector OBE FMedSci (born 1958) is a British epidemiologist, medical doctor, and science writer, working on the relationship between nutrition, the gut microbiome, and health.
[9][10] He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to the Covid-19 response.
[19] In March 2020, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, Spector made use of twins already taking part in a genetic study to begin an investigation of COVID-19 symptoms.
Working with researchers at King's College, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, an app used by twins to record nutrition was used as the basis for the COVID Symptom Study app to allow members of the public to make a daily record of their symptoms and state of health.
[20] By July 2020 the app had more than 4 million users,[21] and the next month the project received grant funding from the Department of Health and Social Care.