Science and research is at the core of work to tackle major public health challenges such as new and emerging infections of high consequence or pandemic potential, climate change, air pollution, antibiotic resistance and vaccine confidence.

This webinar focuses on chemical and environmental hazards to public health. It will provide an overview of the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA’s, formerly Public Health England) operational work and academic research to build the evidence base. UKHSA has an active role in the preparedness and response to chemical and environmental threats to health, working with partners to prevent and reduce people’s exposures to environmental pollutants, radiological hazards, and biological agents. Underpinning research is led by Health Protection Research Units, and speakers will summarise the priorities and current projects related to environmental public health. The natural environment and environmental public health are inseparable, and will be explored in more detail in a case study of vector-borne diseases.

Our speakers

Jim Stewart-Evans is a Principal Environmental Public Health Scientist in the Environmental Hazards and Emergencies Department of the UKHSA. He is an IES member with an MSc in environmental technology, specialising in health risk assessment, policy and management. He has worked in environmental public health roles since 2006. 
His operational role involves exposure and risk assessment, incident management, and providing advice to professionals and the public; projects and research; stakeholder liaison; and training related to acute (immediate) and chronic (longer-term) chemical and environmental threats to public health. 

Jim was project manager and co-author of PHE’s 2019 Improving outdoor air quality and health: review of interventions report and is a co-investigator of the UKRI-funded Breathing City Future Urban Ventilation Network. In October 2021, he began a part-time PhD exploring the integration of environmental and health net gain in policy and practice at the School of Medicine of the University of Nottingham. His other professional interests include spatial planning, industrial regulation, civil protection and emergency preparedness and response.

Dr Kerry Broom CBiol FRSB is the Knowledge Mobilisation Manager for three of the environmental Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs), which are collaborations between the UKHSA and academic institutions.  The HPRU in Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards, and the HPRU in Environmental Exposure and Health are linked to Imperial College and the HPRU Environmental Change and Health is linked to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.  

Kerry is working to mobilise knowledge generated in these three HPRUs, seeking opportunities for the translation of research into practice, policy and commercially, and to strengthen the working relationships of stakeholders, the public and partners. 

Kerry has over 15 years experience in working at UKHSA and its predecessor organisations.  Prior to moving to the area of Knowledge Mobilisation, her research focussed on the neurobiological effects of electromagnetic field exposures. She also has experience in working with the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Royal Society of Biology.

Dr Jolyon Medlock has worked on vector-borne diseases for 25 years, firstly in Africa on malaria control and lymphatic filariasis and since 2002, at Porton Down, for UK government health agencies (UK Health Security Agency). He leads the Medical Entomology group advising UK government on vector-borne disease risk, managing UK-wide vector surveillance systems and research on mosquito- and tick-borne diseases, including impacts of environmental and climatic change. He will talk about some of the current emerging challenges of vector-borne disease risk in the UK.

Charlotte Landeg-Cox is an Environmental Public Health Scientist in UK Health Security Agency. Charlotte has a BA(Hons) from Liverpool John Moors University and an MSc in Environmental Health from UWE Bristol. She qualified as an Environmental Health Officer in 2001 and has 10 years’ experience of working in Environmental Protection in a Worcestershire Local Authority, before moving to her current role initially in Health Protection Agency and then Public Health England. Charlotte currently works in the Air Quality and Public Health team within the Environmental Hazards and Emergency department and has experience of acute and chronic incident response, research, evidence translation and communicating public health risk assessments. 

Charlotte is also a Public and Community Involvement, Engagement and Participation (PCIEP) co-lead for the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Exposure and Health and a STEM Ambassador who participates in outreach events and activities.