Research - Institute of Health & Society

Public Health

The Public Health Research Programme is led by Professor Martin White.

We undertake research which aims to:

investigate the causes and consequences of major contemporary public health problems, including the wide variations in health between and within populations
develop and evaluate interventions to improve population health and reduce health inequalities
influence policy and practice at national and local levels

Our work focuses in particular on developing greater understanding of aetiological pathways, identifying potential points for public health intervention, and developing and evaluating health and social interventions that have the potential to improve health and reduce inequalities. Our research is undertaken in areas in which we have specialist expertise including: fetal and maternal health, health inequalities and health related behaviours, in particular diet and physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking. We employ a range of methods, quantitative and qualitative, drawing on epidemiology and statistics, behavioural and social sciences.

The Public Health Research Programme also involves collaborations within Newcastle University and externally, both nationally and internationally.

We work closely with the Human Nutrition Research Centre in Newcastle, a cross-faculty and cross-institute research centre. IHS hosts the hub of Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, one of five UKCRC public health research centres of excellence, funded by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council and National Institute of Health Research. Martin White is director of Fuse and many members of PHRP are either employed by or associates of Fuse.

The Public Health Research Programme is also affiliated with the National Public Health Research Consortium, together with five other UK universities, funded by the Department of Health to undertake a five-year programme of research understanding and tackling major contemporary public health problems.

Current Collaborators

Staff List

Public Health
Dr Jean Adams Lecturer in Public Health	Email: jean.adams@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 8124
Professor Ashley Adamson Prof of Public Health Nutrition	Email: ashley.adamson@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5276
Dr Vera Araujo-Soares Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology	Email: vera.araujo-soares@ncl.ac.uk
Bronia Arnott Senior Research Assoicate
Dr Ruth Bell Senior Lecturer/Honorary NHS Consultant	Email: ruth.bell@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 8769
Professor Julia Critchley Visiting Professor	Email: j.a.critchley@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5100
Dr Stephan Dombrowski Research Associate	Email: stephan.dombrowski@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5591
Dr Svetlana Glinyanaya Team Scientist	Email: svetlana.glinianaia@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5891
Dr Katie Haighton Lecturer in Public Health Research (Evaluation of Complex Interventions)	Email: katie.haighton@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 246 4566
Dr Nicola Hobbs Research Associate (Health Psychology)	Email: nicki.hobbs@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 8915
Denise Howel Senior Lecturer	Email: denise.howel@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: 0191 222 7381/7245
Katherine Jackson NIHR Training Fellow	Email: kat.jackson@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5425
Professor Eileen Kaner Institute Director	Email: eileen.kaner@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 7884
Kirsty Laing National Institute for Health Research Training Fellow	Email: kirsty.laing@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5425
Joan MacKintosh Research Associate	Email: joan.mackintosh@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 8661
Ruth McGovern Research Nurse (Alcohol Health Worker)	Email: r.mcgovern@ncl.ac.uk
Dr Suzanne Moffatt Senior Lecturer	Email: suzanne.moffatt@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5005
Dr Dorothy Newbury-Birch Lecturer	Email: dorothy.newbury-birch@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 8500
Emma Noble Research Associate	Email: emma.noble@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 246 4564
Linda Penn Research Associate	Email: linda.penn@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 3809
Professor Judith Rankin Prof Maternal & Perinatal Epidemiology	Email: judith.rankin@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5267
Vicky Ryan RA (Statistician)	Email: vicky.ryan@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 3676
Dr Falko Sniehotta Reader in Health Psychology	Email: falko.sniehotta@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 3815
Elaine Stamp Research Associate (Statistician)	Email: elaine.stamp@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 5006
Peter Tennant Research Associate and PhD Student (Epidemiology)	Email: peter.tennant@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 7644
Laura Ternent Lecturer in Health Economics	Email: laura.ternent@ncl.ac.uk
Dr Zoe Weir Hon Lecturer/Speciality Registrar in Public Health	Email: zoe.weir@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 7187
Professor Martin White Professor of Public Health	Email: martin.white@ncl.ac.uk Telephone: +44 (0) 191 222 6275