Our team

John Ford, Director

John is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in Health Equity at Queen Mary University of London, an Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and an Honorary Public Health Consultant at NHS England. John’s main research interest is interventions and policies that seek to promote health equity and reduce health inequalities. He has range of interests relating to equitable health, including so called “intervention-generated inequalities” in health care settings, local system-level interventions to address inequalities, health care workforce inequalities, national policies and strategies to address inequalities and how primary care can address health and health care inequalities. More details can be found here.

Anna Gkiouleka, Associate Director for Research

Anna is a Research Associate in Health Equity at QMUL. She is a multidisciplinary social scientist dedicated to addressing urgent public health issues with a focus on the intersectional structural drivers of health inequalities. In 2020, she was awarded a PhD in Sociology from the University of York. Since then she has contributed significantly to studies that bridge research and practice in the areas of primary care, Allied Health Professional services, inclusion health, and levelling up health initiatives.

Amy Dehn Lunn, Associate Director for Clinical Practice

Amy is a GP working in North East London, a senior clinical fellow at Kent and Medway ICS, and a clinical research fellow at Queen Mary University of London. Amy combines her clinical practice with work on a wider footprint to improve the health of communities with a health equity focus. She is interested in how evidence can shape primary care policy at different levels of the system to reduce disparities in patient access, experience and outcomes.

Liam Loftus, Associate Director for Policy and Practice Engagement

Liam is a qualified GP with an interest in primary care and specifically the role it plays in tackling health inequalities. Experience in this field at local, regional and national level of the NHS. In 2021/22, he completed the National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow Scheme, working with the Primary Care Team at NHS England and NHS Improvement. He also works on behalf of Cambridge City Foodbank as a Health Inequalities Consultant, focusing on how the organisation can improve the health and wellbeing of those facing food insecurity in our community.

Helen Pearce, Researcher

Helen is a Researcher in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include the interventions and aspects of primary care which can affect health inequalities. In particular, Helen is interested in using AI-assisted technology to increase the efficiency of evidence synthesis from literature, to better and more rapidly inform researchers and policymakers on what works to address health inequalities in primary care, and where gaps in the evidence lie.

Cam Appel, Data scientist

Cameron is a data scientist at Queen Mary University of London. His research interests lie at the intersection of socioeconomic and health inequalities, and he is interested in generating resources and insights that promote equitability. He is currently focussed on addressing health inequalities in England, by applying practice- and individual-level data analysis and machine learning techniques to a supply, need and demand model of healthcare.

Lucy Johnson, Research Associate in Health Equity

Lucy is a research fellow in health equity at QMUL. She completed a PhD in medical anthropology at Durham University in 2023. She also holds an MSc in Global Mental Health from Glasgow University. Lucy’s research interests involve using qualitative methods to understand how health inequalities manifest and are experienced. She is especially interested in geographical health inequalities and socioeconomic deprivation. Currently, she is using realist methods to understand how quality improvement (QI) can be used to improve health equity and ensure high-quality care for all.

Lucy McCann, Clinical academic researcher

Lucy is an Academic Foundation Doctor in North East London with an interest in health inequalities and public health. She believes a key focus of healthcare should be to ensure equitable access and outcomes, with a focus on driving priorities based on individual and community needs. She is passionate about promoting health education, empowering individuals to actively participate in managing their own health and diseases, and encouraging involvement in research initiatives. Lucy’s main research areas focus on reducing preventable disease and improving health across the life course.

Helena Painter, Clinical academic researcher

Helena is a GP registrar working in a practice in Tower Hamlets and an academic clinical fellow in primary care at Queen Mary University of London. She believes in the importance of equitable healthcare with communities at the centre and she is motivated to work towards addressing existing health inequalities. She is currently interested in the role of general practice in addressing inequalities in social determinants of health, and how primary care delivery and workforce impacts equitable care.

Ian Holdroyd, Clinical Researcher

Ian is a Foundation Doctor working in South West London. His research interests are focused on nationwide public policy interventions that directly or indirectly affect population health, health inequalities, and the social determinants underpinning both.

Anita Patel, Clinical Researcher

Anita is a final year graduate medical student at Cambridge University. She has a strong interest in addressing inequalities in healthcare and influencing public policy interventions which impact population health. As such, her research interests stem around what works to address inequalities in access to healthcare and health outcomes at a local level.

Luke Natali, Project support

Luke is an Advisor at Health Innovation East and leads the programme management of this work. Luke and Health Innovation East are focused on reducing health inequalities throughout the East of England by supporting initiatives such as this and the NHS Core20PLUS5 agenda. Health Innovation East is funded by the NHS and the Office for Life Sciences to bring together academia, citizens, health services and industry to realise the value of innovations more quickly.