I am attached to the Centre for History in Public Health. I am a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. I am on the International Advisory Board of the journal Drugs: education, prevention and policy. I often peer review articles for scientific journals, and book proposals and chapters for publishers; and act as expert reviewer for proposals and programmes applying for funding, for example from NIHR.

I hold a degree in Social Anthropology (summa cum laude) from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Politics from the same university. My research and teaching has been mainly in Sociology and Social Policy, with special focus on issues in public health and addiction studies. I have taught and researched at Edinburgh University, Institute of Psychiatry University of London, Birkbeck, University of London, Goldsmiths, University of London, Middlesex University London and LSHTM. I was a Reader in Sociology and Social Policy and then a Professor of Social Policy in the University of London and Director of Research and Post-Graduate Studies in Social Science, Education and Health at Middlesex University. I have been a Professor of Social Policy at LSHTM since 2003.