Professor Lindsay Forbes
About
Lindsay is a public health physician with long experience of practising public health alongside research. She joined CHSS in January 2016 from King’s College London, where she co-led a research group for 8 years, researching pathways to care in cancer. She played a major role in developing an innovative approach to information about cancer screening in England, aiming to permit informed choice. Before 2008, she was a consultant in public health medicine in London alongside a research role at St George’s, University of London studying the epidemiology of chronic disease.
She trained in academic public health medicine 1995-2001 in London. Before that, she spent several years in acute hospital medicine, mainly on the south coast, after qualifying in 1988 from Guys, King’s and St Thomas’ Medical School.
One of Lindsay’s key achievements is her role as academic lead for the NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration with Medway Council.
She has led the public health theme of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Kent Surrey Sussex for several years; this has led to the development of a Public Health Research Network linking academia with public health practice in the south east.
Research interests
Lindsay is academic lead for the NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration Medway, which aims to build research culture and infrastructure in Medway Council.
Lindsay leads a programme of work understand the epidemiology of health in coastal towns and draw policy implications from this.
She is also examining effectiveness of interventions to improve the health and opportunities of young people who are not in employment, education or training or who are at risk of criminal exploitation – key problems in UK coastal towns.
Supervision
Past: Maja Niksic, Sarah Spencer, Helen Hobbs
Current: Salmaan Ansari, Katherine Buckeridge, Tim Woodhouse, Kate Birrell, Palmira Dos Ramos
Professional
• Public Health Speciality lead for research delivery for the Regional NIHR Research Delivery Network
• GMC Specialist Register Public Health
• External examiner for Masters in Public Health, University of Southampton
• External PhD examiner (various)
• Educational Supervisor for the Kent Surrey Sussex School of Public Health (currently supervising 3 registrars)
• Member of Advisory Committee for the NIHR Research Support Service Specialist Centre for Public Health
• Member of funding panel of NIHR Public Health Research Programme
Background
A public health physician with long experience of practising public health as well as researching it, I joined CHSS in January 2016 from King’s College London, where I co-led a research group researching pathways to care in cancer and ways of speeding up diagnosis. I also advised the Department of Health on cancer policy including the Be Clear on Cancer campaigns. I played a major role in developing an innovative evidence-based approach to information about cancer screening in England, aiming to offer informed choice (information I co-developed is still in use, sent to millions of people each year). Before 2008, I was consultant in public health medicine in Wandsworth PCT, where I was clinical effectiveness lead and provided public health advice on acute commissioning and cancer services, alongside a role in St George’s, University of London studying the epidemiology of chronic disease in relation to air quality.
I trained in academic public health medicine 1995-2001 in London, where I was lucky to have a joint NHS-university post in South London health authorities and King’s College London. Before that I spent several years in acute hospital medicine after qualifying in 1988 from Guys, King’s and St Thomas’ Medical School (then the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals).