
Professor Sanjay Agrawal
Professor Sanjay Agrawal is a Consultant in Respiratory and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. Treating tobacco dependency effectively in the NHS has been a key focus as well as wider tobacco control measures. Dr Agrawal chairs the Royal College of Physicians Tobacco Advisory Group.

Dr Somen Banerjee
Somen is Director of Public Health (DPH) at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. He is also co-chair of the London Association of the Directors of Public Health Network (ADPH) and DPH lead for tobacco for the London Network. He has worked in Tower Hamlets for over ten years. He completed his public health training in Oxford where he gained experience working with the World Health Organisation, Department of Health, National Institute for Clinical Excellence, Public Health Observatories and the British Heart Foundation Academic Unit in Oxford University.

Kate Harrison (Treasurer)
Kate Harrison is a Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the ICAEW. She has worked in charity finance since 2007 and is currently a Finance Business Partner at the British Heart Foundation.

Professor Nicholas Hopkinson MA PhD FRCP (Chair)
Professor Nicholas Hopkinson is a Reader in Respiratory Medicine & Honorary Consultant Physician at The National Heart and Lung Institute of Imperial College and the Royal Brompton Hospital where he runs the Advanced COPD service. His research focuses on addressing exercise and activity limitation in COPD in areas including pulmonary physiology and lung volume reduction, skeletal muscle impairment and pulmonary rehabilitation. He chairs the British Thoracic Society COPD Specialist Advisory Group and is also active in tobacco control advocacy. He trained at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and The London Hospital Medical School and subsequently at St George’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals.

Jonathan McShane
Jonathan has a wealth of experience in public health at a local and national level. He was Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Devolution in the London Borough of Hackney, Chair of Hackney’s Health and Wellbeing Board and represented the Local Government Association on public health issues for many years. He currently chairs a number of national public health committees and advises NHS organisations and councils on all aspects of health and social care. He is also Chair of the Terrence Higgins Trust and a trustee of the Shoreditch Town Hall Trust.

Dr Debbie Robson
Debbie is a Senior Research Fellow at the National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. Her current role involves the development, implementation and evaluation of tobacco dependence treatment initiatives for people with a mental health condition and/ or substance use disorder who smoke.

Dr Helen Walters
Dr Helen Walters is Public Health Consultant Advisor to the Public Health Research Programme for NIHR working at the national coordinating centre in Southampton University. She focuses on the funding of research that is relevant to Public Health practice, particularly in local government. Helen brings extensive experience of coal-face Public Health practice having led the Health Team in the Mayor of London’s office for five years. Prior to this Helen was Director of Public Health for the City of Westminster, Consultant in Public Health in Portsmouth, has been a GP partner and served as an elected member in her district council. Helen is the Tobacco lead for the UK Faculty of Public Health and a trustee of St Mungo’s.

Rachael Murray
Rachael Murray is a Professor of Population Health in the School of Medicine, University of Nottingham and specialises in tobacco control research in multiple health settings. Rachael is a member of the Royal College of Physicians Tobacco Advisory Group and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee.

Dr Anthony Laverty
Dr Anthony Laverty is a Senior Lecturer in the Public Health Policy Evaluation Unit in the Department of Primary Care & Public Health. His research focuses on evaluations of tobacco control policy, both in the UK and globally. Examples of his work include an assessment of the child health impacts of banning smoking in cars as well as a WHO report on the potential for tobacco control to enhance childhood development.