Co STRATEGIC DIRECTOR

Paul is a retired academic respiratory physician with a long-standing interest in the distribution, determinants and prevention of occupational lung diseases. He formerly held a Chair at Imperial College and an honorary consultantship at Royal Brompton Hospital, London; and was chair of the research working group of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (DWP) and a scientific member for both the Workplace Health Expert Committee (HSE) and the Independent Medical Advisory Group (MoD).

Co STRATEGIC DIRECTOR

Jo is a Professor of Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, and Managing Partner of Affinity Health at Work. She works at the interface of research, practice and policy, developing the collaborations and capabilities needed to prevent work-related ill health and help people remain in, return to and thrive in work. Jo brings together employers, practitioners and policy partners to translate evidence into practical action, contributing to national guidance and creating healthier, more productive and inclusive workplaces.

CENTRE MANAGER

Vaughan is an occupational health research manager and the centre manager of the London Centre for Work and Health based at St Thomas Hospital and is an honorary senior research fellow in the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine at King’s College London. He is also an honorary fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians and an honorary assistant editor of the Occupational Medicine journal.  Since 2013, Vaughan has been responsible for overseeing the operational management and delivery of work and health research studies taking part in the NHS and non-NHS settings.

EXPERT ADVISOR (Occupational Health)

Previous Co Founding Director

Ira was a consultant and professor in occupational medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London.  

She is the former Academic Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, UK and was Chief Medical Advisor to the Houses of Parliament for 23 years. Her broad-ranging career has combined clinical practice, teaching, research, and policy with a career-long interest in creating evidence for, and promoting the use of, evidence-based occupational health practice. She was formerly a member of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council and chair of a NIHR, Health Technology Assessment Panel. She was the co-founder and co-director of the London Centre for Work and Health and is a Scientific Trustee of the Colt Foundation.

THEME LEAD

Sharon Stevelink is Professor of Applied Epidemiology and Occupational Health at King’s College London, specialising in the intersection of disability, long-term health conditions, work and welfare. Her research focuses on how the benefit system functions for people with physical and mental health conditions, including leading the first national data linkage between Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit records and mental healthcare records. She works closely with government departments, including the DWP, the Joint Work and Health Unit, NHS England and the Scottish Government, to ensure evidence meaningfully informs policy and service design. In addition, Sharon co-leads and leverages data from various longitudinal studies exploring the health and wellbeing impacts of people who work in occupations with an increased risk of traumatic exposure, such as the military, NHS and police. She is an independent scientific member of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council.

THEME LEAD

Jo is an Honorary Respiratory Consultant in occupational lung disease at Royal Brompton Hospital and Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College. Her research broadly focuses on the respiratory health of working populations with particular interests in firefighters and workers exposed to silica. She was awarded an NIHR Advanced Fellowship to study the epidemiology of artificial stone silicosis in the UK. She is expert advisor to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Silicosis and member of the Group of Occupational Respiratory Disease Specialists (GORDS).

THEME LEAD

Danielle is a senior research fellow in the Department for Primary Care and Population Health at UCL.  She is the Principal Investigator for the CARE and CARE 2 studies, developing and testing an intervention to address moral injury in prison staff, and a Co-Investigator on the NHS CHECK study, a cohort study of NHS staff mental health and wellbeing. She supervises several PhD students whose projects look at mental health in a variety of workplaces. 

THEME LEAD

Lisa is a clinical academic physiotherapist. She works as a clinical lecturer in hand therapy at Queen Mary University of London, and as a hand therapist at Barts Health NHS Trust. Lisa leads a programme of research exploring work and upper limb musculoskeletal conditions. Lisa is also involved in growing clinical academic careers for allied health professionals.

EXPERT ADVISOR (Occupational psychiatry)

Neil is a consultant academic and occupational psychiatrist based at King’s College London. Neil served in the Armed Forces for more than 23 years. He has been the Secretary of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the President of the UK Psychological Trauma Society and is the first psychiatrist to be the President of the Society of Occupational Medicine.

EXPERT ADVISOR (Policy)

Alexandra is Director of Research at the Policy Institute, King’s College London. Her main focus areas are health, mental health, science policy, and the effective use of evidence in policymaking. Alex has taught research methods, policy engagement, communications and impact assessment, has supported research funders internationally in the development of impact evaluation frameworks and tools.

SUBJECT EXPERT

Dr Lin is an Occupational Medicine Consultant at Optima Health. Prior to joining Optima in early 2025, she was an Occupational Medicine Consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Currently, she continues to work with Guy’s and St Thomas’ part-time for academic health and work research as she is committed to contribute towards evidence-based occupational medicine practice.

SUBJECT EXPERT

Stefania is a Senior Research Fellow and Statistical Epidemiologist at the University of Southampton, with over a decade of experience in work and health research. Her research has focused on the relationships between work, health, and ageing, with particular emphasis on healthy ageing, the work ability of older workers, and the benefits and risks associated with extending working lives.

SUBJECT EXPERT

Adam is a health economist at the University of Leeds, where he serves as Deputy Head of the Academic Unit of Health Economics and Director of Research and Innovation in the Leeds Institute for Health Sciences. His work examines the links between health, employment and wider economic outcomes, with expertise in analysing large datasets, applied health econometrics and the design and delivery of economic evaluations of policy interventions. His research addresses areas such as economic inactivity, long-term health conditions and health inequalities, with the goal of informing policy and practice within the NHS and across government and the broader economy.

SUBJECT EXPERT

Janet O’Neill is an Occupational Health Nurse specialist with 23 years’ experience of Occupational Health in the UK. Janet has worked for PAM Group in varying roles for 20 years and now heads up their learning and development Academy. She is also Deputy Head of the National School of Occupational Health, a strategic role in nurse and AHP development. For the last 4 years, Janet has been a board director of CPD for iOH and is now a trustee. She is on the board of directors for the Council for Work and Health, a board trustee for the College of Work and Health and on the SOM leadership Academy committee. Janet is an assistant editor at the Occupational Medicine Journal and sub-editor of OH Today.

Janet’s main interest is education and training but loves writing articles and blogs on all things Occupational Health in order to promote the speciality for those looking to enter. She has a keen interest in the developing world of AI in Occupational Health and chairs the AI in OH collaboration group.

SUBJECT EXPERT

Dr Alden is an occupational health physician with a background in clinical dermatology and an interest in work-related skin problems. She is the Chair of the Society of Occupational Medicine skin specialist interest group, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators and an NHS tutor for SAS doctors and dentists.

SUBJECT EXPERT

Fehmidah is a Professor of Health Psychology at Loughborough University, whose research advances understanding of long‑term health conditions and the complex relationship between work, health and wellbeing. She leads major programmes developing and evaluating integrated workplace health interventions such as return to work, with her work shaping organisational policies and attracting substantial funding from bodies including the NIHR, ESRC and UK Government.

SUBJECT EXPERT

Libby is an Independent Occupational Health Nurse Practitioner and workplace trainer specialising in stress and mental health. She is the author of Mental Health in the Workplace: A Practical Guide for Occupational Health Practitioners on Consultation and Report Writing (2nd edition, March 2025), supporting evidence-based practice in occupational health.

 She completed her Master’s degree at the University of Nottingham, graduating with distinction following a scholarship nomination. Libby combines practical experience across occupational health, human resources, and health and safety, delivering evidence-informed guidance and training across a wide range of business sectors.

 Libby is Chair of the Expert Stakeholder and Patient/Public Group (ESPG) for the ENGAGE study, an NIHR-funded project delivered collaboratively by Affinity Health, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, and the London Centre for Work and Health, supporting collaboration between researchers and practitioners.

 She is the founder of Mindshift Consultancy, an Associate Lecturer at Robert Gordon University, and previously served as Vice President of iOH – The Association of Occupational Health and Wellbeing Professionals.