Policy Fellow, Population Health Improvement

Dr Angela Hands is a Public Health Programme Lead at the Department of Health and Social Care and an Honorary Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She works at the interface of public health research, policy development, and programme delivery, with a focus on how the built and natural environment, including transport, green space, and neighbourhood design, can be leveraged to improve population health and reduce health inequalities.

Angela has extensive experience leading and supporting cross‑government programmes on healthy places. Her work involves translating research evidence into national policy, evaluation frameworks, and practical guidance to support delivery across England, working closely with partners in academia, local government, and the voluntary and community sector.

With an academic background in public health and health psychology, her research interests include active travel, access to green infrastructure, and environmental determinants of health, with a strong emphasis on evidence synthesis, policy relevance, and strengthening the use of robust evidence in decision‑making.