I am an Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Professor Emerita at Middlesex University London. I am a social scientist with a background in anthropology and politics, and have taught and researched mainly in social policy and public health.
My interest in addiction has developed since research with young homeless people who had overdosed at City Roads (crisis intervention) in London in the early 1980s. I was Programme Coordinator for the Department of Health Drug Misuse Research Initiative from 2000-2010 and a member of an ACMD Working Group on the Ageing Cohort of Drug Users in 2019.