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.

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.

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.