Mark Hanson, Institute of Development Sciences, University of Southampton

Mark Hanson is Emeritus Professor of Human Development and Health and British Heart Foundation Professor at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, where he founded and directed the Institute of Developmental Sciences. He is a founder and past President of the International Society for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease and Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He co-Chaired the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Pregnancy and Non-Communicable Diseases Committee and the Pregnancy, Obesity and Nutrition Initiative and is very active in promoting maternal nutrition initiatives through FIGO. His research concerns how the developmental environment affects health across the life course, from mechanisms to interventions, in low-, middle- and high-income countries. Mark pioneered LifeLab to promote health literacy in schools. He has authored over 400 papers and 11 academic and popular books and is actively engaged in wider advocacy for developmental science and its applications to medicine, the economy and public health policy.