The National Heart Forum is a diverse organisation, relying on the support and input of our Board of Trustees, Members, Observers and staff to achieve its aims.
Our staff, trustees and members are drawn from a variety of backgrounds, but all have a passion for public health.
Organisational members include research organisations, charities, government departments, NGOs and other not-for-profit organisations. We also have a panel of distinguished experts in cardiovascular disease in our individual and associate members.
Our staff are involved in aspects of chronic disease prevention including policy research, disease and condition modelling, and information services provision.
Chief Executive Officer - Paul Lincoln
Paul has led the National Heart Forum since 2001. He has worked in public health at local, national and international levels for over 27 years, previously as a director of the Health Education Authority and in the National Health Service. He also has experience as an educational adviser, teacher and researcher.
He is an adviser to the World Health Organization and other international organisations on public health. He is also a member of a number of Government expert public health advisory groups. He was awarded an OBE in the 2008 New Year honours list for services to healthcare.
Policy
Jane Landon - Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Jane is director of policy, responsible for managing the NHF’s portfolio of policy research and advocacy and a small team of policy researchers. Her professional areas of interest are food policy and food marketing, tobacco control, alcohol harm reduction and public health advocacy. Previously, she was a communications consultant to the former Health Education Authority and director of a public relations company specialising in media and public affairs for scientific research organisations and medical charities. Jane holds an honours degree in English Literature and Language (York) and has trained in public health and public affairs.
She is a visiting research fellow at Curtin University, Western Australia, a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health (UK) and is chair of the Food Commission Research Charity.
Hannah Graff - Senior Policy Researcher
Hannah conducts NHF’s policy research and advocacy, including management of the Healthy Places online resource. Previously Hannah has held several positions in public health policy research and development in the US, and has expertise in obesity, HIV/AIDS, health inequities and community prevention. She is a volunteer consultant for the Organic Health Response and a professional member of the Society for Medical Anthropology. Hannah holds an MPhil in medical anthropology (Oxon) and a BA in anthropology.
International
Modi Mwatsama - Director: International
Modi is a Registered Nutritionist (Public Health) and leads NHF’s work on non-communicable diseases and global health. She has expertise in public health policy development, advocacy and implementation at local, national and international levels. Modi previously worked for the Global Research Network on Urban Health Equity at University College London and Heart of Mersey – England’s largest cardiovascular disease prevention programme. She is a member of the Faculty of Public Health and sits on the Council of the Association for Nutrition and the Advisory Council of the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network. Modi is currently studying for a Doctorate in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Corporate Services
Sue Connolly - Corporate Services Manager
Sue has worked with the NHF since 2009, where her responsibilities include human resources, financial management, organisational governance and project management, working closely with the senior management team. She manages a small corporate services team responsible for administration and IT for the NHF staff and trustees.
Dan French - Administrative Coordinator
Dan has worked with the NHF since 1999 providing administrative support to the NHF staff and trustees, helping to coordinate central office systems and facilities, administering meetings, and supporting financial procedures.
Nicola Schmidt - Information Systems Manager
Nicola joined the NHF in 2002 and manages the NHF IT network infrastructure and various website projects. She is also responsible for providing technical support for all NHF websites. Nicola has a Foundation Degree in Science: Information Technology, is a member of the British Computer Society and CompTIA A+ certified. Nicola is currently working towards a BSc in Computing at Birkbeck University, London.
Modelling
Tim Marsh - Director: Modelling
Tim directs the NHF’s modelling team, which undertook the quantitative modelling for the Foresight Report 'Tackling Obesities'. He is a Director/Founder member of the European Public Health and Agriculture Consortium and of Food Matters, a not-for profit organisation which supports individuals and organisations working towards more sustainable, equitable food systems. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health (UK) and member of Society of Social Medicine.
Ketevan Rtveladze - Health Economist
Ketevan Rtveladze is the chief health economist at the NHF. She provides expert advice on cost-effectiveness methods as well as general research support. She joined the group in 2010. Ketevan holds a degree in International Health Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Laura Webber - Modelling Researcher
Laura holds a PhD in Psychology from University College London on childhood obesity. She is a member of the NICE PDG committee on childhood weight management and has worked with the NHF since February 2011. She has past experience of quantitative and qualitative statistical analysis and project management.
Marco Mesa-Frias - Research Associate
Marco has a background in mathematics and epidemiology. He is currently completing his doctoral studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the faculty of Public Health and Policy. His current research interests are health impact assessment of social and environmental exposures, methods for dealing with uncertainty and modelling complex interventions.
Information Services
Helena Korjonen - Director: Information Services
Helena directs NHF’s information services. She has a PhD from the Department of Information Studies at University College London, an MA in Information Studies and a BSc (Hons) in International Studies. She is a chartered member (MCLIP) of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. She is a member of the PHORCaST project board and the Public Health England content development group. Her research interests are public health informatics, the social web, digital preservation, human geography and climate change.
Jennifer Ford - Information Manager
Jenni is responsible for overseeing the development of current awareness services at the NHF, and also carries out content development and technical support work for the NHF’s websites. She is a qualified information professional with an MA in Information Studies from University College London and a BSc (Hons) in Anatomy and Human Biology from the University of Liverpool. Sheis currently undertaking a distance learning postgraduate diploma course in Public Health (Informatics) and has also taken short courses in information literacy education and understanding cardiovascular diseases. Jenni is also a committee member for the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals special interest group UK eInformation Group.
Asha Keswani - Senior Information Officer
Asha manages PANacea, the NHF’s online network for physical activity and nutrition. She has overall responsibility for managing the relationship with users on the NHF’s websites and managing the NHF’s promotional activities. She has experience in customer services, project management and marketing. Asha is working towards an information qualification.
Emma Hughes - Information Officer
Emma is responsible for delivering NHF’s current awareness services. She has experience of conducting user needs assessments and has expertise in searching for information and appraising it for quality. Emma has a BSc (Hons) in Philosophy and Psychology and is undertaking a distance learning postgraduate MSc course in Information and Library studies.
