Public Health, Policy and Systems @ University of Liverpool
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livuni-phps.bsky.social
Public Health, Policy and Systems @ University of Liverpool
@livuni-phps.bsky.social
86 followers 91 following 56 posts
Improving health and reducing inequalities through pioneering research and education. @liverpooluni.bsky.social

Profile managed by @edmhill.bsky.social.‬

🔗: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/population-health/about/public-health-policy-and-systems/
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livuni-phps.bsky.social
🎤 Today's PHPS forum: "Empowering Communities to Address Air Pollution Related Disease in Africa: Presenting the CLEAN-Air(Africa) Community Household Air Pollution Prevention Programme (CHAP-PP)’" #PublicHealth

🗣️ Prof Dan Pope

🎧 Hear more on Original Ideas Podcast: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7auD...
Talk title: ‘Empowering Communities to Address Air Pollution Related Disease in Africa: Presenting the CLEAN-Air(Africa) Community Household Air Pollution Prevention Programme (CHAP-PP)’. Abstract: Each year in Sub-Saharan Africa 742,000 people die prematurely from exposure to household air pollution (HAP) from reliance on polluting wood, charcoal and kerosene used to provide household energy for more than 70% of the region’s population. In 2018 the Kenyan Ministry of Health asked CLEAN-Air(Africa) to develop a training module for the countries community health workers in their health promotion role to prevent 26,000 annual deaths from HAP in the country. This presentation tells the story of the resulting Community Household Air Pollution Prevention Programme (CHAP-PP) now being implemented across Kenya and in Rwanda, Uganda and Cameroon. It also highlights some of the impacts from CHAP-PP and how community mobilisation through women’s table banks is leading to primary prevention of HAP and related disease. Image produced by students from Plymouth University for CLEAN-Air(Africa) - this is the emblem for the community mobilisation of women’s table banks following CHAP-PP training Speaker bio: Dan Pope directs the NIHR CLEAN-Air(Africa) Global Health Research Unit - a partnership of public health researchers, academics and clinicians from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Cameroon. CLEAN-Air(Africa) is funded by the UK NIHR (£10m 2018 to 2027) to conduct policy relevant research and health systems strengthening to address the burden of disease from household and institutional air pollution. CLEAN-Air(Africa) is a flagship programme under the Energy, Air Pollution and Population Health Research Theme from the Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems.
October 28, 2025 at 6:34 PM
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1/ 🎤 Today's PHPS forum was on "Lessons from smoky kitchens: Unveiling the hidden burden from wood-fuelled cooking in sub-Saharan African schools" #PublicHealth

🗣️ Speakers: Dr Esther Kalkman & Prof Dan Pope

💨 Featured work by NIHR CLEAN-AIR (Africa) Global Health Research Unit: cleanairafrica.com
Talk title: Lessons from smoky kitchens: Unveiling the hidden burden from wood-fuelled cooking in sub-Saharan African schools Abstract: In 90% of sub-Saharan African schools, meals are prepared on polluting wood stoves, posing a major health risk to staff and learners. Our latest research from schools in Rwanda and Kenya has found dangerously high levels of air pollution from wood-fuelled cooking, highlighting serious health concerns for millions of school populace. Using clean fuels like LPG and electricity in schools, as recommended by the WHO, can protect cooks, children, and the environment. Our global health research partnership calls for urgent action to accelerate the transition to clean cooking in schools and aims to support such transitions with impact evidence (health, education and environment) that can inform policy on the most effective solutions. Speaker: Dr. Esther Kalkman is a health and environmental scientist and a postdoctoral researcher at the NIHR CLEAN-Air (Africa) Global Health Research Unit. About CLEAN-Air(Africa) The NIHR CLEAN-Air(Africa) Global Health Research Unit is a collaboration of international experts in environmental public health from the UK, Kenya, Cameroon, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. The partnership implements research, health systems strengthening, and capacity-building activities across the five focus countries with the explicit objective to address the health burden from household and institutional air pollution from reliance on polluting solid fuels (e.g., wood, charcoal, coal, and biomass) and kerosene. CLEAN-Air(Africa) aims to provide policy-relevant evidence to raise population awareness of the issue and to support prevention through the transition to clean fuels and energy for cooking. CLEAN-Air(Africa): Main Aims To facilitate transition for vulnerable communities and public institutions to clean cooking to address health, environment, climate and gender impacts from reliance on polluting fuels. To evaluate chronic and hidden additional health burdens from household air pollution that can be addressed through clean cooking. To advocate for disease prevention from reductions in air pollution through national clinical and community health systems strengthening. Investing in the future; to develop a sub-Saharan African Air Pollution Centre of Excellence through capacity building, training and investment. Maximising impact through community and stakeholder engagement. Key activities under CLEAN-Air(Africa) The Unit builds on research, capacity and health systems strengthening initiated under the NIHR CLEAN-Air(Africa) Global Health Research Group in Cameroon, Kenya and Ghana. The Group was launched in 2018 and has achieved significant impact since this time in three key areas to address the global public health burden from reliance on polluting solid fuels and kerosene for household energy. Exposure to household air pollution: Using state of the art monitoring equipment to quantify adult and child health impacts from exposure to air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels. Transition to clean cooking: Identifying and addressing barriers to cooking with clean fuels. Informing clean energy policy in sub-Saharan Africa. Strengthening health systems: Training clinical and community health workforces in primary and secondary prevention of household air pollution.
October 14, 2025 at 12:31 PM
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📣 Event news: Our first PHPS Postgraduate Research presentation day was held on 16 Sep 2025!

🎤 Event had two forms of presentation: 5-minute lightning talks and 15-minute talks.

👥 Contributions from 11 PGRs

🎉 Congrats to talk prize winners Louise Allen (5 min talk) & Rosalyn Arnold (15 min talk)!
Photo of some of the participants from the University of Liverpool Public Health, Policy and Systems Postgraduate Research presentation day, held on 16 September 2025 in The Library at the Guild. The presentation day featured two forms of presentation (5-minute lightning talks and 15-minute talks), with contributions from 11 postgraduate researchers at different stages of their research to a broad audience that provided varied feedback, rich discussions and networking opportunities. Many staff were also in attendance to support our PGR community and learn about their exciting research. Prizes were awarded to the following talks: 5-min talk: Louise Allen - “A Core Outcome Set for Children with Cerebral Visual Impairment plus Profound Learning Disabilities” 15-min talk: Rosalyn Arnold - “Food insecurity in households with children”
October 10, 2025 at 4:22 PM
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📣 Introducing some of our recent PHPS new starters! #PublicHealth

👤 Meijie Chu: PDRA with @livunihipr.bsky.social working on the project MATRIARCH (MATeRnal, InfAnt, Reproductive & Child Health in Cystic Fibrosis).

👤 Sandra Clare: PDRA on CHESS project (Civic Health Equity: from Silos to Systems).
Meijie Chu Meijie is a Postdoctoral Research Associate with the Health Inequalities Policy Research Group (HIP-R). Her work primarily focuses on the project MATRIARCH: MATeRnal, InfAnt, Reproductive & Child Health in Cystic Fibrosis, which investigates the impact of cystic fibrosis during pregnancy, parenthood, and in offspring, as well as the NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) project, which examines how family size influences child health outcomes and service use. Meijie earned her PhD from the School of Public Health at Xiamen University, China. Her research interests center on applying cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysis to explore health determinants and improve public health, particularly among vulnerable populations. In addition, she is deeply interested in health inequalities within the broader social science context. Meijie aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for health management and policies that shape people’s health and well-being. Sandra Clare I have come to Liverpool as a Postdoctoral Research Associate for the CHESS (Civic Health Equity: from Silos to Systems) project. I am a community educator and was a researcher as part of the Pen Green Centre for Children and Families for over 20 years, where I developed inclusive, collaborative approaches to research and adult learning. I hold a PhD in Education from the University of Manchester, where I employed a feminist standpoint to examine young student-mothering combining storytelling, secondary analysis of population data, and legal-herstorical research to illuminate intersecting structural barriers and injustices Alongside my doctoral work, I taught a lot and contributed to various research projects each with a broader focus of educational equity. Most recently, this involved an intergenerational project with neighbours of the University of Manchester to co-produce oral histories and archival research, recovering the stories of Ellen Wilkinson and other local women whose contributions to social justice have been largely erased from mainstream history. In my spare time I love urban walking, photography, travelling, and trying new places to sup cask ales.
September 30, 2025 at 1:42 PM
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5/ 🎓 Eligibility continued

▶️ Evidence of potential as a career researcher
▶️ Excellent written and verbal communication skills
▶️ Supportive academic references
▶️ Highly motivated
▶️ Able to work both independently and as part as part of a team
▶️ Able to plan and manage own work

/end
Who is this for? Applicants must have a first degree in a discipline relevant to public health research and will be expected to complete a PhD during the award period. Candidates should also ensure they meet the eligibility criteria of the host institution (please see individual university websites for details). Your application will be assessed using the following criteria as part of the application shortlisting process: - A first or upper second class UK honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate subject (qualifications, or a combination of qualifications and experience, which demonstrate equivalent ability and attainment will also be considered) - Previous research experience or formal training (e.g. a Master’s degree) is desirable - Relevant previous research experience - Output from previous research experience - Evidence of commitment to a research career - Evidence of potential as a career researcher - Excellent written and verbal communication skills - Supportive academic references - Highly motivated - Able to work both independently and as part as part of a team - Able to plan and manage own work
September 16, 2025 at 11:51 AM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
4/ 🎓 Eligibility

▶️ First or upper second class UK honours degree, or equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate subject (activities demonstrate equivalent ability & attainment considered)

▶️ Previous research experience or formal training (e.g. a Master’s degree) desirable
Who is this for? Applicants must have a first degree in a discipline relevant to public health research and will be expected to complete a PhD during the award period. Candidates should also ensure they meet the eligibility criteria of the host institution (please see individual university websites for details). Your application will be assessed using the following criteria as part of the application shortlisting process: - A first or upper second class UK honours degree, or the equivalent qualifications gained outside the UK, in an appropriate subject (qualifications, or a combination of qualifications and experience, which demonstrate equivalent ability and attainment will also be considered) - Previous research experience or formal training (e.g. a Master’s degree) is desirable - Relevant previous research experience - Output from previous research experience - Evidence of commitment to a research career - Evidence of potential as a career researcher - Excellent written and verbal communication skills - Supportive academic references - Highly motivated - Able to work both independently and as part as part of a team - Able to plan and manage own work
September 16, 2025 at 11:51 AM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
3/ Further info

📍 Location: University of Liverpool, UK

👥 Supervisors: @benjaminbarr.bsky.social | @breconomics.bsky.social

💰 Funding: Fully funded PhD position (Home student fees, stipend and a small budget to cover research costs) – funding is for three-years duration.

📅 Start Date: Jan 2026
Overview Shape the future of public health with a fully funded PhD at the University of Liverpool. Join a world-leading team using cutting-edge data science and AI to tackle real-world challenges—like homelessness, housing, and urban health—driving policy change and health equity across Liverpool. About this opportunity Are you passionate about making a difference for people’s health and wellbeing? Want to learn cutting edge data science skills for real impact? The University of Liverpool University is excited to announce two fully funded three-year PhD studentship, starting in January 2026. The PhDs will be based in the Liverpool Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) https://liverpool.gov.uk/council/hdrc-liverpool/ a pioneering initiative aiming to boost research capacity and capability within Liverpool City Council to develop evidence for better health outcomes for all. You will work with and be supported by world leading academic expertise as part of the University of Liverpool’s Heath Inequalities policy research Group (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/population-health/research/groups/health-inequalities-policy/ a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Policy Research on Determinants of Health Equity and the Civic Health Innovation Lab (CHIL) that is leading new models for progressive data uses and responsible artificial intelligence in civil society, fuelling innovations for health, social and economic advancement. The PhD studentships will support successful candidates to undertake research in priority areas identified by Liverpool City Council. Developing new insights for early identification of need and evaluation of effective and cost-effective actions on health in one or more of the following areas: - Homelessness – developing tools to support early identification of people at risk of homelessness and evaluating effective prevention initiatives. - Housing – developing models to inform housing strategy and assessing the cost / benefits of alternative approaches. - Healthy urban places – developing healthy urban regeneration and evaluating what works for health promoting urban environments. - Understanding effective economic strategies for Liverpool that are inclusive, reduce poverty and promote health and wellbeing. We welcome applications that align with these themes with a focus on using data driven approaches that maximize the benefits of using linked civic data across sectors (health, local government, Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise). The successful candidate should have some prior research or relevant practice experience and a passion for addressing health equity. Funding your PhD Fully funded studentship (Home student fees (UK and Northern Ireland only), stipend and a small budget to cover research costs) for UK students only. Contact us Have a question about this research opportunity or studying a PhD with us? Please get in touch with us, using the contact details below, and we’ll be happy to assist you. Professor Ben Barr: b.barr@liverpool.ac.uk
September 16, 2025 at 11:51 AM
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2/ Low-cost monitor details

📱 Compact 8cm device records fine particulate matter, volatile organic compounds & carbon dioxide at one-second resolution.

🚦 Features WHO aligned air quality guideline traffic light display.

🏥 Affordable tool for community health workers & health professionals

/end
News story: Liverpool unveils prototype low-cost personal air pollution monitor for Africa Published: 21 August 2025 Main text: The University of Liverpool has developed a new prototype low-cost monitor (LCM) designed to measure personal exposure to air pollution, offering an affordable tool for communities and health professionals worldwide. The project is a collaboration between Dr Jonny Higham, from the Department of Geography and Planning, and Professor Dan Pope, from the Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems aiming to reduce the burden of household air pollution (HAP). Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) found in household air pollution (HAP) from combustion of solid fuels like wood, charcoal and kerosene is the largest environmental risk factor for global disease burden, responsible for 3.1 million deaths every year. The compact 8cm device records fine particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide at one-second resolution. Its battery lasts up to four days, and data can be accessed in real time via mobile phone or a dedicated web platform, with the option to download results as .csv files. The monitor also features a traffic light display aligned with World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines, making it particularly useful for community health workers and other frontline professionals. The prototype was launched at the Central Africa LPG Expo in Cameroon, attracting strong interest from stakeholders, including potential investors. Following the event, several units were deployed in Mbalmayo, one of the University of Liverpool’s CLEAN-Air(Africa) Unit’s research communities in Central Cameroon, where they successfully captured real-time data on both ambient and personal exposure to pollution. During a training workshop for community health workers on household energy, air pollution and prevention, Professor Pope demonstrated how the monitors can be used to raise household awareness of harmful particulates. Community health workers highlighted the value of the devices in supporting their health messaging. The Liverpool LCMs will be finalised after further field testing in Mbalmayo. They will then be made available through the CLEAN-Air(Africa) Air Pollution Centre of Excellence at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi, directed by Dr James Mwitari, and through Douala General Hospital’s Air Pollution Research Centre in Cameroon, led by Professor Bertrand Mbatchou. Both UoL partner centres are equipped with state-of-the-art calibration and benchmarking facilities supported by CLEAN-Air(Africa) to ensure accuracy and reliability. Professor Dan Pope said “We are delighted with the reception the monitors have received so far and how health practitioners in Africa are engaging with the technology. The monitors will be critical in raising awareness on the health impacts from air pollution and benefits from prevention through adoption of clean energy”. Directed by the University, CLEAN-Air(Africa) was launched in 2018 through NIHR Global Health Research funding (£10m over 9 years) and includes collaboration with leading public health researchers from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Cameroon and Ghana). The partnership is conducting policy relevant research and health systems strengthening to address non-communicable disease burden associated with reliance on polluting solid fuels for household energy. For more information about the Low-Cost Monitors, visit liverpoolsensors.co.uk or contact cleanairafrica@liverpool.ac.uk.
August 22, 2025 at 3:57 PM
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1/ 🏆 Success at 2025 University of Liverpool ‘Three Minute Thesis’ competition

👏 Congrats to our PhD student Rukun Khalaf. First place at Faculty Heat stage (Health and Life Sciences) & Runner Up in overall final!

🔗: news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/06/30/t...
Rukun Khalaf with the runner's up certificate for the University of Liverpool’s Three Minute Thesis Competition.
July 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
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3/ Job role responsibilities

📋 Include designing and managing a data service to handle diverse datasets (e.g., Electronic Health Records, geospatial data) and ensuring data governance, compliance and disclosure control.

/end
About you Appointment at Grade 8 will require the desirable criteria to be met, in addition to the essential. Experience Essential 1. Proven experience of successfully manipulating large data sets. 2. Demonstrable experience in the field of informatics and/or data science. 3. Research software development experience. 4. Experience of developing and implementing documentation or reports that are accessible to the team. 5. Experience of writing technical reports, guides and academic publications for other users and the wider scientific community. 6. Experience in web programming, e.g. data visualisation dashboards. Desirable 1. Experience in data handling within the health, medical and/or bioinformatics domain. 2. Proven ability to lead and mentor others, managing performance, monitoring progress and driving development. 3. Research experience in an academic setting 4. Experience in DevOps e.g. API development and integration, service integration, infrastructure development. 5. Experience within a health research setting. Education, qualifications and training Essential 1. Educated to a degree level in a relevant discipline e.g. computer science, engineering, mathematics, or equivalent experience. Desirable 1. PhD in a subject area allied to data science e.g. computer science, engineering, mathematics or a related discipline and/or relevant post graduate research or industrial experience, as outlined below. Skills, general and specialist knowledge Essential 1. Knowledge of data curation best practice. 2. Ability to write software programs, for example, to extract data from databases and to clean data. 3. Proficiency in SQL, e.g. PostgreSQL, MySQL. 4. Knowledge and experience of data quality measures including analysis, cleaning and reporting. 5. Knowledge of software development best practices, e.g., version control, reproducible examples, analytical pipelines. 6. Excellent problem-solving skills. 7. Knowledge of Team Science leadership approaches and practices. Desirable 1. Understanding of the relevant legislation covering patient protection; understanding of clinical information governance (e.g. DSPT); understanding of good information security (e.g. ISO27001). 2. In-depth knowledge of one or more statistical/data manipulation tool/environment such as R, Python. 3. Proficiency in SQL, e.g. PostgreSQL, MySQL for routine health records, and Geographic Information Systems data processing. 4. Knowledge and experience of metadata management including inferring embedded metadata from data files produced by statistical packages and familiarity with data documentation standards. 5. Knowledge or experience of longitudinal studies. 6. Knowledge of the FAIR data principles. 7. Experience of leading using a Team Science approach. Personal attributes Essential 1. Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Including a proven ability to develop and maintain working relationships and actively collaborate with other technical and non-technical staff, teams and groups. To engender confidence from senior colleagues. 2. Self-motivated; able to work both independently and in a team; able to manage time effectively and deliver within a defined timeframe. 3. Proven ability to manage multiple competing projects simultaneously. 4. Proven ability to deliver to deadlines and within resources. 5. Willingness to travel to conferences or meetings with collaborators outside of Liverpool (and sometimes outside of UK) as necessary. E.g. travel to Bradford/Belfast/Edinburgh/London for quarterly meetings. 6. Experience of effective liaison with external partners including and contributing to professional and academic networks. Desirable 1. Ability to translate a strategic overview or research plan into operational work plans.
July 8, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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1/ 🚨 #JobOffer Data Manager to support GroundsWell Consortium (@groundswellcon.bsky.social) & contribute to impactful research on urban health!

⏳ Application deadline: 23:30 BST, 18 Jul 2025

🔗 Link to role and how to apply: my.corehr.com/pls/ulivrecr...

#AcademicJobs #ResearchJobs #PublicHealth
University of Liverpool Job role: Data Manager Grade and salary: Grade 7/8 £39,355 - £59,139 pa (depending on skills and experience) Working hours: Full time 35 hours per week/1 FTE Tenure: Until September 2026 Location: Hybrid working, expectation is 3 days per week at Liverpool campus Faculty: Health and Life Sciences, Institute of Population Health, Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems Recruiting department contact: Professor Sarah Rodgers (email: Sarah.Rodgers@liverpool.ac.uk) Job ref: 096013 Interviews will be held on the 11 August 2025 Role overview and University context: We are seeking to appoint a Data Manager to provide data science support for exploring the role of urban green and blue spaces in tackling health inequalities as part of an exciting multidisciplinary research group, the GroundsWell Consortium. You will take responsibility for designing, implementing and running a service covering the application for processing, storage, release and long-term curation of all GroundsWell data. This will entail working on new data collections from their inception to ensure data collection procedures are compatible with our data management plan, through to making the data available to relevant members in the consortium and the wider scientific community in a timely manner with appropriate documentation and cataloguing, thus ensuring its long-term availability and usability. It is expected that the candidate is comfortable in working with large databases, statistical analysis environments and producing detailed documentation, that will be used by other members of the team and the wider scientific community Datasets will have a range of formats such as quantitative routinely collected Electronic Health Records, survey data and qualitative data. There may be video files, photographs, remotely sensed images, and other raster or vector data suitable for analysing within a Geographic Information System. Health and environmental data will be held in a variety of SQL database files, as well as CSV, R, and Stata files. You will liaise with a team of researchers and policy/practitioner partners, providing data governance and processing advice, and you will be expected to complete standard processing, as well as develop new procedures when non-standard processing is required. The GroundsWell Consortium (https://www.groundswelluk.org), funded by the UK Prevention Research Partnership, aims to dive community innovation by applying systems science that maximises the contribution of urban green and blue spaces…
July 8, 2025 at 3:39 PM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
📣 Recent PHPS new starters 'in focus': Saddaf Naaz Akhtar

🔗: www.liverpool.ac.uk/people/sadda...

🔎 Research interests: Intersections of social demography, healthy ageing, social epidemiology & public health policy.

👥 Postdoctoral Research Associate contributing to Telehealth and PROPEL projects.
PHPS newsletter item on our recent new starter, Saddaf Naaz Akhtar. Description from Saddaf: "Hello there!! I joined PHPS in late April 2025 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate contributing to the Telehealth and PROPEL projects. As part of the Telehealth project, I am examining whether the use of telehealth services reduces unplanned healthcare utilisation, and how these effects vary across sociodemographic groups and service delivery types. This research employs a synthetic controlled, retrospective longitudinal analysis using linked routine data from the Community Services Data Set (CM-SDE). With a background in Statistics and Demography, I earned my PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (India), completed a visiting research term at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel), followed by two enriching years as a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton. My work is driven by a deep passion for using data to improve lives. I am particularly interested in the intersections of social demography, inclusive and healthy ageing, social epidemiology, and public health policy, with a strong emphasis on addressing gender, ethnic, and socio-economic disparities. I am especially enthusiastic about applying quantitative methods to ageing research and contributing to more equitable health and social care systems."
June 20, 2025 at 1:49 PM
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📣 Recent PHPS new starters 'in focus': Joshua Edefo

🔗: orcid.org/0000-0002-62...

🔎 Research interests: Span mental health, health economics, epidemiology & econometric modelling within the healthcare system.

💻 Research Fellow contributing to the modelling of healthcare demand in the UK.
PHPS newsletter item on our recent new starter, Joshua Edefo. Description from Joshua: "I joined the department of PHPS as a Research Fellow in May 2025. My research interests span mental health, health economics, epidemiology and econometric modelling within the healthcare system. My main activity will be to contribute to the modelling of healthcare demand in the UK, a project funded by the Health Foundation."
June 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
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🏆 Liverpool Staff Awards 2025

👏 Congrats to Children Growing Up in Liverpool 'Young Voices, Big Ideas' project team - 'Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement' Team Winner!

🧒 Engaged school groups with arts-based methods & Lego Serious Play to get children's thoughts on future of Liverpool.
Team Winner for Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement Young Voices, Big Ideas (for C-GULL) Public Health, Policy and Systems The Young Voices, Big Ideas project engaged school groups across the Liverpool City Region using arts-based methods and Lego Serious Play to gather children's thoughts on the future of Liverpool. The team worked with the Young People's Advisory Service to co-create a pop-up stand for events like Liverpool Schools Parliament and co-designed a children's book celebrating life in Liverpool. The data was showcased in an exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool, with free Lego building events for local families. The exhibition reached over 70,000 visitors and highlighted how arts and play-based activities are effective research methods for engaging young people. The project has paved the way for future researchers using art, culture, and heritage to connect with diverse audiences.
June 19, 2025 at 11:55 AM
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📣 Recent PHPS new starters 'in focus': Alessandro Procopio

🔗 LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/alessandr...

🔎 Research interests: Investigating social determinants of health & evaluating social policies impact on individuals' health

👥 PDRA on CHESS project (Civic Health Equity: from Silos to Systems)
PHPS newsletter item on our recent new starter, Alessandro Procopio. Description from Alessandro: "Hello there! I joined PHPS as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in Public Health Data Science in April 2025 to work on the CHESS project. I earned my PhD from the University of Luxembourg and spent a visiting research period at Purdue University. Subsequently, I spent two years as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Stockholm University. My research centres on investigating the social determinants of health and evaluating the impact of social policies on individuals' health. I am particularly passionate about advancing our understanding through cutting-edge statistical techniques. Specifically, my expertise encompasses the application of innovative Bayesian methods, advanced survival analysis, time-series analysis, machine-learning techniques, and causal inference."
June 19, 2025 at 11:37 AM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
📣 Recent PHPS new starters 'in focus': Dorcas Magai

🔗 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dorcas-ma...

🔎 Research interests: Understanding development of mental disorders in children & adolescents

🧠 Postdoc Research Associate on Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC) project: mric.uk
PHPS newsletter item on our recent new starter, Dorcas Magai. Description from Dorcas: "Hello! I am a Developmental Psychologist by training. I joined the department in March 2025 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Mental Health Research for Innovation Centre (M-RIC) project, focussing on children’s and young people’s mental health. I have a keen interest in understanding the development of psychopathology in children and adolescents, with a focus on identifying biopsychosocial risk factors and developing innovative strategies to improve outcomes."
June 18, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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📣 Recent PHPS new starters 'in focus': Eleojo Abubakar

🔗: www.liverpool.ac.uk/people/eleoj...

🔎 Research interests: Health geographer & data scientist concerned with determinants & inequalities in population health

💻 Research associate supporting projects including: www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/wha...
PHPS newsletter item on our recent new starter, Eleojo Abubakar. Description from Eleojo: "I am a health geographer and data scientist concerned with determinants of and inequalities in population health. I am adept at analysing administrative, survey and routine clinical data using various quantitative data analytics, including geocomputation. In March 2025, I joined PHPS as a research associate, where I now support a variety of projects including (1) the health and educational outcomes of victims of child neglect and (2) the Health Determinants Research Collaborative (HDRC). Prior to this, I have held two postdoc positions and one industry position in the UK. The last was a research fellow in social data science at the University of Edinburgh, on the project ‘Artificial Intelligence and Multimorbidity: Clustering in Individuals, Space and Clinical Contexts (AIM-CISC)’."
June 17, 2025 at 3:54 PM
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🛟 Today's PHPS forum was given by Belinda Tyrrell

📝 On development of the Liverpool Citizens chapter in partnership with @citizensuk.org & @livuniheseltine.bsky.social

🔦 Spotlight on community organisation driving social change on locally identified issues

🔗: www.liverpool.ac.uk/humanities-a...
Full talk description: The Heseltine Institute have been working with Citizens UK who are a national charity, using community organising for social change on the issues that matter to communities on the development of their Liverpool Chapter. Citizens UK work is underpinned by the principle that ‘everyday people have power’ and by bringing people together across their differences, common ground may be found and change achieved. Over the last 30 years, this approach has had a range of local, regional and national impacts, including securing over £2 billion for low paid workers through the Real Living Wage and an amnesty of ‘legacy cases’ for 160 000 asylum applicants. Citizens UK is organised through a series of local chapters, each bringing together local people and organisations to build a better and fairer society. In November 2024 Citizens UK launched a Liverpool Citizens chapter. To date, over 18 local organisations have joined in membership, including faith institutions, universities, schools, NHS organisations, community groups and housing associations. The aim now is to continue to build the chapter through nurturing relationships with local organisations and listening to the issues that matter to them, along with engaging local decision-makers to bring about change. Issues that have been raised through local listening so far, include the transportation, temporary accommodation/housing, mental health and access to dental care. The presentation today aims to provide colleagues within the university with an overview of how community organising of this type works in practice and potentially identifies opportunities for colleagues to engage with the chapter on shared interests. Belinda Tyrrell bio: Belinda’s areas of research interest include inclusive growth and public service innovation, her research agenda is focused on improving outcomes for communities both within the Liverpool City Region and beyond. Growing up in a housing cooperative underscored the importance of placing the community at the heart of the decision-making process and she is keen to capture lived experiences of induvial and communities in her work. She was the Co-Investigator on the interim evaluation of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s (LCRCA) Households into Work Programme(HiW). A collaboration between the LCRCA, six Local Authorities and Department for Work and Pensions, Households into Work was a significant labour activation programme for the city region, designed to address the systemic issues associated with long-term and entrenched worklessness that have resulted in generations of the same household being unable to enter the labour market or sustain work.
June 17, 2025 at 11:21 AM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
📣 Recent PHPS new starters 'in focus': Yan Ding

🔎 Research interests: Health systems strengthening & implementation science in low & middle-income countries

💨 Research Fellow in CLEAN-Air(Africa) Unit

🔗 Yan's webpage: www.liverpool.ac.uk/people/yan-d...

🔗 CLEAN-Air(Africa): cleanairafrica.com
PHPS newsletter item on our recent new starter, Yan Ding. Description from Yan: "Hi! I joined PHPS in March 2025 as a Research Fellow working in the Clean Air (Africa) Unit. I am an applied social scientist in global health research, a mixed methods researcher. I am interested in health systems strengthening and implementation science in low and middle-income countries, with experience in community-based intervention development and evaluation, research capacity strengthening and fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration in consortia. My implementation research experience has enabled me to live and work in Asia, Europe and Africa. I enjoy running and wandering in nature in my spare time."
June 16, 2025 at 5:18 PM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
📣 Recent PHPS new starters 'in focus': Manzoor Malik

🔎 Research interests: Economic evaluation of
interventions

👥 Joined CHESS (Civic Health Equity: from Silos to Systems) project

💻 Evaluating health impact of social & economic support programmes for @lpoolcityregion.bsky.social households
PHPS newsletter item on our recent new starter, Manzoor Malik. Description from Manzoor: "I joined PHPS in May 2025 and am currently working on Work Package 2 of the CHESS Project, which involves conducting the economic evaluation of various household socio-economic support interventions across the Liverpool City Region (LCR). I hold a PhD in Applied Economics, with a focus on health economics and global public health. My research centres on the economic evaluation of interventions related to mental wellbeing, household socio-economic support, and planetary health, with an emphasis on quantitative methods."
June 15, 2025 at 3:05 PM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
1/ Our recent departmental newsletter featured 7️⃣ new starters! 🎉 Will intro each this week. #PublicHealth

👤 First is Joy Wyche (joined us in Mar 2025)

🧪 Research Assistant on project assessing feasibility of randomising young people to invasive & non-invasive sampling techniques for suspected UTIs
PHPS newsletter item on our recent new starter, Joy Wyche. Description from Joy: Hi, I joined PHPS in March 2025 as a Research Assistant to work on the NIHR funded project assessing the feasibility of randomising children and young people to invasive and non-invasive sampling techniques for suspected urinary tract infections (FROG Study). I am a predominately qualitative researcher, and my main areas of interest include psychology and behaviour change, mental health and wellbeing, public engagement and co-production, communication and evaluation techniques. I have worked for over 13 years in research across Public Health related projects and organisations, including a 7-year position in Liverpool City Council’s public health department designing and delivering behaviour change interventions.
June 14, 2025 at 6:51 PM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
📰 Find out about recent PHPS activities from these news items in our Summer 2025 departmental newsletter

🗣️ @profbuchan.bsky.social presents at the COVID-19 inquiry

🎙️ Launch of the Health Data Decoded Podcast

🙌 University of Liverpool Staff Awards 2025 shortlisting

🧳 PHPS departmental away day
Professor Iain Buchan presents at the COVID-19 inquiry. On 19 May 2025, Professor Iain Buchan presented critical lessons from the Liverpool Covid-19 testing pilot at a public hearing of Module 7 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. His evidence offered insight into how future pandemics can be managed more effectively. Module 7, focusing on Test, Trace and Isolate, is examining the UK’s approach to testing, contact tracing and self-isolation from January 2020 to 28 June 2022. Professor Buchan’s evidence drew on real-world learning from the Liverpool pilot - the UK’s first city-wide asymptomatic mass testing programme launched in November 2020. Professor Buchan outlined seven key lessons for effective pandemic response, emphasising the need for clear testing goals. He highlighted the importance of equity, timely data, public health expertise, and AI tools in supporting effective decision-making. He also stressed the need to align preparedness with innovation and economic strategy and recommended regular simulation exercises across all leadership levels to ensure readiness for future health crises and ongoing NHS pressures. Further details can be found in an associated news article from the University of Liverpool. https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/05/19/liverpool-public-health-expert-presents-at-covid-19-inquiry/ Launch of the Health Data Decoded podcast. Our colleague Dr Ed Hill (Tenure Track Fellow in Health Protection Data Science) along with Dr Sam Ball (Lecturer in the Department of Health Data Science) have launched a podcast called Health Data Decoded! Health Data Decoded is a podcast series for the Civic Health Innovation Labs, discussing how we can use civic data to improve public health. The podcast features not only research/teaching staff, but also administrators or other professional services staff to help the public understand the support needed to make health research happen. Three episodes have been released so far. Episodes of Health Data Decoded are available on Spotify and YouTube. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kbSyvIQUeLCjsSAORwlxr YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HealthDataDecoded University of Liverpool Staff Awards 2025 shortlisting. The team for the Children Growing up in Liverpool (C-GULL) study’s public engagement programme 'Young Voices, Big Ideas' have been shortlisted for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement’! This award is for teams or individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to societal benefit through public engagement with their University work. With team members including colleagues from PHPS, the 'Young Voices, Big Ideas' public engagement programme aims to empower a diverse group of children and young people and their families in Liverpool, and foster community ownership of the CGULL cohort study through arts-based public engagement. That has been done through the Young Voices, Big Ideas ‘Pop-Up’, workshops in primary schools and books for young children, all co-designed with the young person’s advisory group and a team of adult public advisors. The Staff Awards 2025 ceremony takes place at The Spine on Monday 16 June, where the winners and commendations will be announced. PHPS departmental away day. On Tuesday 03 June 2025, the PHPS department had its latest away day. Held at the University of Liverpool Greenbank Conference Centre, the away day had more than 50 PHPS departmental members engage in networking and discussions on the theme of ‘Making a difference’. The agenda featured a panel session on ‘Making PHPS more inclusive’ , flash talks by postgraduate and early-career researchers, and small group activities including a session led by the Social Sciences of Population Health Interdisciplinary Collaborative (SOPHIC) discussing ‘What constitutes a public health problem?’.
June 13, 2025 at 11:12 PM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
Today we had our 2025 away day at Greenbank Conference Centre!

💭 Theme of ‘Making a difference’ with departmental members engaged in networking & discussions

🎤 Panel session on inclusivity

⚡ Flash talks by PGRs & ECRs

👥 Small group activity discussing “What constitutes a public health problem?”
University of Liverpool Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems (PHPS) away day 2025 University of Liverpool Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems (PHPS) away day 2025 Theme: “Making a difference” Agenda: 10:00 Welcome 10:05 Speed networking 10:30 Panel session: ‘Making PHPS more inclusive’ 11:30 Lightning talks (Postgraduate Researchers, PGR, and Early Career Researchers, ECR) 12:15 Lunch and chat 13:15 SOPHIC: Positioning the social at the heart of public health 14:00 Tea break 14:10 Small group activity: ‘Making a difference’ 14:50 Summary/feedback 15:00 Close University of Liverpool Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems (PHPS) away day 2025 Lightning talk session: Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) Six talks. 5 minutes per talk. Talk one. Speaker: Liam Jarvis. Presentation title: Beliefs, Antiseizure medications and side effects: A longitudinal study with those diagnosed with epilepsy and their significant others. Talk two. Speaker: Rakun Khalaf. Presentation title: My research and me (PhD title: Measuring the effects of Green and Blue Spaces (GBS) on maternal and infant health). Talk three. Speaker: Zoe Colombet (on behalf of Kateryna Zhuk). Presentation title: Assessment of changes in dietary habits of the Ukrainian population due to the full-scale war and their impact on the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Talk four. Speaker: Rosalyn Arnold. Presentation title: Understanding Free School Meal Access for Children in Food Insecure Households in England. Talk five. Speaker: Eleojo O. Abubakar. Presentation title: Local effects of settlement form on multimorbidity prevalence in Wales. Talk six. Speaker: Yan Ding. Presentation title: Community Household Air Pollution Prevention Program (CHAP-PP). Opening of the ‘Making a difference’ small group session.
June 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
🗣️ Our colleague Will Whittaker spoke at today's Health Data Science forum

🛟 Will's research aims to inform effective, efficient & equitable ways to provide health & care

🔗: www.liverpool.ac.uk/people/willi...

Health Economics and Equity at Liverpool (HEEL) 🔗: www.liverpool.ac.uk/population-h...
Presentation title slide. Speaker: Will Whittaker (Senior Lecturer in health economics at the University of Liverpool) Death by a thousand cuts. Overview of the lessons learnt in my career and the generation of the health economics and equity at Liverpool research theme. Vision for the Health Economics and Equity at Liverpool (HEEL) group. Provide evidence to improve the health and wellbeing of the population. Strengthen health and social care systems through the study of efficient and equitable ways of providing health and social care.
May 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM
livuni-phps.bsky.social
📣 Funded 3yr PhD opening for UK applicants in @hpruezi.bsky.social @liverpooluni.bsky.social. #PhDSky

🧪 On "Economic Evaluation of NPIs for the control of epidemics" #IDSky #EpiSky

👥 Supervised by our colleague @breconomics.bsky.social

⏳ Apply by 09 Jun 2025

🔗: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
About the Project This studentship explores the economics of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for emerging zoonotic infections, building on evidence of implementation challenges during COVID-19. It aims to develop economic models & define cost-benefit by considering trade-offs between health outcomes and macroeconomic outcomes. The research will establish a utility function for NPIs, identify tipping points, and assess their cost-effectiveness & impact on health inequalities, ultimately informing future epidemic & pandemic preparedness & policy. This is an exciting opportunity to work with a world-leading team delivering research relevant to public health. This PhD opportunity is funded by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Emerging & Zoonotic Infections (EZI). NIHR HPRUs undertake high quality research that enhances the ability of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to protect the public’s health & minimise the health impact of emergencies. This studentship focuses on economics of NPIs for controlling emerging zoonotic infections (EZIs). NPIs are sometimes called Public Health & Social Measures (PHSM). Globalisation, increasing human encroachment into animal habitats & rapid global travel mean that the risk of EZIs is increasing. NPIs such as mass asymptomatic testing with self-isolation of positives & risk mitigation for cultural events, that use a synthetic control analysis approach, had an enormous impact in controlling COVID-19. However, their introduction was not straightforward, with major challenges around their feasibility & acceptability. Most evidence in support of NPIs is from observational & ecological studies. Decisions around NPIs during the pandemic were aimed at saving lives & protecting the NHS. However, many NPIs, especially those which limit civic freedoms & ability to work, have major economic consequences, often not factored into modelling or decision making. We will characterise and optimise the economic impact of NPIs by developing cost models based on evidence synthesis. We will define cost benefit in terms of short-/long-term health outcomes(e.g. health and social care cost savings and QALYs gained, wellbeing) and macroeconomics(e.g. change in GDP/GVA) and establish a weighting between the two based on data from the COVID-19 pandemic(e.g. stringency of restrictions vs. economic impacts). We will develop a utility function for NPIs and define the ‘tipping point’ and understand if an NPI is a ‘win-win’ - cost effective and able to reduce health inequalities. This PhD will combine infectious disease epidemiology, economics and policy modelling so would suit someone with a background in several of these areas. It will involve talking to decision makers to understand their priorities and how different outcomes are weighted in decision making. The exact focus of this PhD will be agreed with the successful applicant based on their own background, and research interests. This is a brief summary. Support Structure The student will have PhD supervisor meetings every two weeks initially, then monthly. The student will be hosted in the Department of Public Health, Policy and Systems at University of Liverpool which has a proud history of Public Health research and will benefit from a positive, empowering research community. About the HPRU-EZI The HPRU-EZI is a partnership between the Universities of Liverpool, Oxford and Glasgow, Liverpool-STM, London-SHTM and UKHSA. HPRU-EZI has been running since 2014 and supports and strengthens UKHSA in its role protecting England from emerging infections and zoonoses (i.e. those which spread from animals to humans). For further details please see our brochure and our website: http://hpruezi.nihr.ac.uk/media/artlflhc/hpru-ezi-brochure.pdf http://hpruezi.nihr.ac.uk/ This PhD studentship falls under the Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions theme. For initial queries or to arrange an informal chat please email your CV, cover letter and project title to brenc@liv.ac.uk Interviews are likely to take place in June/July 2025 with a plan for the PhD to begin in around October 2025, for a period of three years. Funding Notes The studentship is funded by NIHR HPRU EZI-3 project. The studentship includes a stipend (currently £19,237) and UK/home tuition fees for 3 years, plus a budget for computer, consumables, travel and publications and some budget for training. What we are looking for First degree in a numerate subject(e.g. Maths, Economics, Psychology). Masters degree in a relevant subject(e.g. global health, epidemiology, health economics etc) or relevant work experience. This is a multidisciplinary studentship so candidates will need to be proactive in working across different disciplines and driving their own learning. They will also need to be able to search the policy literature and organize workshops with decision makers to understand priorities. People from diverse backgrounds have historically been under-represented in the health and social care research talent pipeline. We are committed to addressing under-representation in research training awards and encourage applications from diverse groups.
May 23, 2025 at 5:57 PM