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Prof of Health Sciences, University of York

Hilary Graham has a background in sociology and social policy. She has a track-record of research on social inequalities in health, with a particular focus on health-related behaviours. Her research is also exploring, and seeking to integrate, the connections between public health (the health of current and future populations) and the biophysical environment (the health of the planet). Hilary received a CBE for services to social science in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2014 and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2016.

She has led a range of research programmes, including the ESRC Health Variations Programme (1996-2001), which investigated the links between social and health inequalities, and the DH Public Health Research Consortium (2005-11; see http://phrc.lshtm.ac.uk/), which informs the evidence base to improve health and tackle health inequalities. She was a member of the Social Policy and Social Work Panel for the 2014 Research Exercise Framework, and has served as Vice-Chair of the ESRC Research Committee. She is a member of the Cancer Research UK Prevention Research sub-committee and the NHS Sustainable Development Unit Research and Implementation Advisory Group, and is contributing to the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change (see http://lancetcountdown.org/).

Hilary Graham’s books include Unequal Lives: Health and Socioeconomic Inequalities (Open University Press, 2007) and Understanding Health Inequalities (Open University Press, 2010). She was also an author for the 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health.

Experience

  • 2016–present
    Professor, Health Sciences, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
  • 2011–2015
    Head of Department, Department of Health Sciences, University of York