The University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. A world top 100 university

Understanding Complexity • Advancing Equity

We are an interdisciplinary research group dedicated to understanding and addressing the complex influences that shape health and drive inequalities across people, places and stages of life

Our Mission

We provide evidence and tools to navigate the complex social, economic, and environmental systems that determine health and wellbeing. Through innovative research and ambitious cross-sector partnerships we support decision-makers in considering how to maximise health gains, address health inequalities and build a healthier, fairer future for all.

Our Approach

We apply systems science approaches and develop new systems tools to move beyond isolated variables, focusing instead on real-world complex systems, and the feedback loops and interdependencies that drive population health dynamics. Our work identifies the indirect and long-range effects of policy interventions to maximise health and equity benefits and prevent unintended consequences.

Core methodologies:

Soft systems methods: To build a shared understanding of complex policy environments.
Microsimulation and agent-based modelling: To simulate individual behaviours and project intervention outcomes.
System dynamics: To map complex aggregate feedback processes and non-linear change.
Network analysis: To understand connections andrelationships within social systems.
AI and machine learning: To extract insights from large-scale, unstructured datasets that inform population health outcomes.
Systems-science informed evidence reviews: To review existing scientific literature to generate systemic, future- and action-oriented insights.

Staff

	Petra Meier Professor of Public Health
	Alison Heppenstall Professor of Geocomputation
	Corinna Elsenbroich Reader of Computational Modelling in Social and Public Health Science
	Jo Winterbottom Senior Research Fellow
	Jonathan Stokes Senior Research Fellow
	Vittal Katikireddi Professor of Public Health and Health Inequalities
	Eric Silverman Research Fellow
	Andrew Maclaren Research Fellow
	Andreas Höhn Research Fellow
	Kashif Zia Research Associate
	Sarah Lester Research Associate
	Phoebe Sommervail Research Assistant
	David Bowmark Research Associate
	Reese Green Research Associate
	Rebeka Balogh Research Associate
	Alice MacLachlan Portfolio Manager
	Norah Yin Nwe Soe Project Manager
	Alison Caldecott Communications Manager
	Karen Penman Administrative Assistant
	Helen Thompson Administrative Assistant

Students

	Amy Stevenson PhD title: Designing for Equity: Identifying Built Environment Features of a Feminist City and Their Influence on Walking Behaviour Supervisors: Petra Meier, Jon Olsen, Nick Bailey, Jaime Toney
	Shreya Sonthalia PhD title: Exploring the Dynamic Relationship between Population Mental Health and the Labour Market through a gendered lens: a system dynamics study in Scotland Supervisors: Petra Meier, Corinna Elsenbroich, Emma Comrie, Mohammad Jalali
	Victoria Ponce Hardy PhD title: Simulating the impact of decarbonising home energy on health inequalities Supervisors: Petra Meier, Alison Heppenstall, Gerry McCartney
	Ilana Booth PhD title: Using qualitative systems methods to explore the health experiences of women in Scotland who experienced low-income and ACEs in childhood Supervisors: Petra Meier, Andreas Höhn, Clementine O'Connor
	Patricia Maria Ayala Genes PhD title: Assessing the Impact of the Healthy Municipalities Strategy in Paraguay from a Health Equity Perspective Supervisors: Jonathan Stokes, Erik Igelström, Vittal Katikireddi
	Robert Sutton PhD title: Addressing the Physical Activity Gender Gap in Scottish Primary Schools: A Participatory Systems Mapping Study Supervisors: Jonathan Stokes, Anne Martin, Benjamin Rigby, Shona Hilton
	Roxana Pollack PhD title: Exploring the Mental Health Implications of Employment Transitions using modelling Supervisors: Vittal Katikireddi, Alison Heppenstall, Anna Pearce
	Jeeva Macmillan-John PhD title: Complex Connections: Simulating Interventions for Multimorbidity Prevention and Levelling-up Equity (SIMPLE) Supervisors: Jonathan Stokes, Bhautesh Jani, Alison Heppenstall
	Yue Yin PhD title: Identifying the “Optimal Intervention Timing” for Weight Management Along a Continuous Risk Spectrum: A Threshold–Window Study Based on a Prospective Cohort Supervisors: Jonathan Stokes, Andreas Höhn

Publications

Lomax, Nik, Rice, Hugh, Hoehn, Andreas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7170-1205, Hughes, Ceri, Heppenstall, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-3437, Elsenbroich, Corinna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4326 and Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2026) An inclusive economy classification of British Local Authority Districts and assessment of its association with life expectancy and lifespan variation. Population, Space and Place, 32(1), e70151. (doi: 10.1002/psp.70151)

Legge, Melissa F., Inyang, Elizabeth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2678-4230 and Stokes, Jonathan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3266-1474 (2025) 20-minute neighbourhoods, criticisms, conspiracy theories, and health: a critical discourse analysis. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 4093. (doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-25416-y) (PMID:41272528) (PMCID:PMC12639678)

Walsh, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3390-5039, Hoehn, Andreas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7170-1205, Dundas, Ruth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3836-4286, McCartney, Gerry ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6341-3521 and Whyte, Bruce (2025) Using lifespan variation to better understand long-term trends in health inequalities in Scotland and Europe. European Journal of Public Health, (Accepted for Publication)

Stevenson, Amy, Ponce Hardy, Vicki ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0837-5862, Bailey, Nick ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1618-5949, Toney, Jaime ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3182-6887, Olsen, Jonathan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5356-8615 and Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2025) From the compact city to the X-minute neighbourhood: a systematic review of the health and wellbeing impacts of sustainable urban development models (SUDMs) on women. Journal of Urban Health, 102(4), pp. 883-904. (doi: 10.1007/s11524-025-00990-z) (PMID:40932670) (PMCID:PMC12484460)

Montano, Luigina Jessica, Elsenbroich, Corinna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4326, Font, Xavier and Alector Ribeiro, Manuel (2025) Impact evaluation with process tracing: explaining causal processes in an EU-INTERREG sustainable tourism intervention. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 33(8), pp. 1752-1774. (doi: 10.1080/09669582.2024.2358115)

Rice, Hugh P., Hoehn, Andreas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7170-1205, Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933, Heppenstall, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-3437 and Lomax, Nik (2025) An inclusive economy dataset for wards in Great Britain using administrative and synthetic data sources. Scientific Data, 12(1), 1230. (doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-05502-x) (PMID:40664712) (PMCID:PMC12264001)

Hjelmskog, Annika ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4982-9621, Boyd, Jennifer, Stevenson, Amy, Pollack, Roxana, Elsenbroich, Corinna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4326, Heppenstall, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-3437, Toney, Jaime ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3182-6887, Winterbottom, Jo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4374-4397 and Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2025) The effect of climate mitigation and adaptation policies on health and health inequalities: a systematic review. Lancet Planetary Health, 9(7), 101277. (doi: 10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.06.001) (PMID:40645199)

Kakampakou, Lydia, Stokes, Jonathan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3266-1474, Hoehn, Andreas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7170-1205, de Kamps, Marc, Lawniczak, Wiktoria, Arnold, Kellyn F., Hensor, Elizabeth M.A., Heppenstall, Alison J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-3437 and Gilthorpe, Mark S. (2025) Simulating hierarchical data to assess the utility of ecological versus multilevel analyses in obtaining individual-level causal effects. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 25, 79. (doi: 10.1186/s12874-025-02504-6) (PMID:40121398) (PMCID:PMC11929225)

Meier, Petra S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933, Holmes, John, Stevely, Abigail, Boyd, Jennifer E., Hernández Alava, Monica, Hardie, Iain, Warde, Alan and Sasso, Alessandro (2025) Drinking practices: the variation of drinking events across intersections of sex, age and household income. Drug and Alcohol Review, 44(1), pp. 144-156. (doi: 10.1111/dar.13975) (PMID:39537147) (PMCID:PMC11743237)

Pollack, R. et al. (2024) How could 20-minute neighbourhoods impact health and health inequalities? A policy scoping review. BMC Public Health, 24, 3426. (doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20928-5) (PMID:39696117) (PMCID:PMC11653922)

Boyd, Jennifer, Holmes, John, Gibbs, Naomi, Buckley, Charlotte, Purshouse, Robin and Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2024) How can agent-based modelling provide new insights into the impact of minimum unit pricing in Scotland? Drug and Alcohol Review, 43(7), pp. 1657-1661. (doi: 10.1111/dar.13880) (PMID:37638133) (PMCID:PMC10457563)

Olmez, Sedar, Heppenstall, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-3437, Ge, Jiaqi, Elsenbroich, Corinna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4326 and Birks, Dan (2024) Mitigating housing market shocks: an agent-based reinforcement learning approach with implications for real-time decision support. Journal of Simulation, 18(6), pp. 921-939. (doi: 10.1080/17477778.2024.2375446) (PMID:39691552) (PMCID:PMC11649216)

Gamal, Yahya ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2370-6172, Elsenbroich, Corinna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4326, Gilbert, Nigel, Heppenstall, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-3437 and Zia, Kashif (2024) A behavioural agent-based model for housing markets: impact of financial shocks in the UK. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 27(4), 5. (doi: 10.18564/jasss.5518)

Squires, H. et al. (2024) The PHEM-B toolbox of methods for incorporating the influences on Behaviour into Public Health Economic Models. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 2794. (doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20225-1) (PMID:39395958) (PMCID:PMC11475213)

Brook, Anna, Rendall, Georgia, Hearty, Wendy, Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933, Thomson, Hilary ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6810-9948, Macnamara, Alexandra, Crossley, Rachel, Campbell, Mhairi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4416-7270 and McCartney, Gerard ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6341-3521 (2024) What is the relationship between changes in the size of economies and mortality derived population health measures in high income countries: a causal systematic review. Social Science and Medicine, 357, 117190. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117190) (PMID:39178721)

Olmez, Sedar, Birks, Dan, Heppenstall, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-3437 and Ge, Jiaqi (2024) Learning the rational choice perspective: a reinforcement learning approach to simulating offender behaviours in criminological agent-based models. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 112, 102141. (doi: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2024.102141)

Kopasker, D. et al. (2024) Evaluating the influence of taxation and social security policies on psychological distress: a microsimulation study of the UK during the COVID-19 economic crisis. Social Science and Medicine, 351, 116953. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116953) (PMID:38759385) (PMCID:PMC7617584)

Holmes, John, Sasso, Alessandro, Hernández Alava, Mónica, Borges Neves, Rita, Stevely, Abigail K., Warde, Alan and Meier, Petra S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2024) How is alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking spread across different types of drinking occasion in Great Britain: An event-level latent class analysis. International Journal of Drug Policy, 127, 104414. (doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104414)

Höhn, Andreas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7170-1205, Andersson, Gunnar, Kulu, Hill and Campbell, Brad (2024) Childbearing across immigrants and their descendants in Sweden: The role of generation and gender. International Migration Review, (doi: 10.1177/01979183241245072) (Early Online Publication)

Hoehn, A. et al. (2024) Estimating quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) for local authorities in Great Britain and its association with indicators of the inclusive economy: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 14(3), e076704. (doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076704) (PMID:38431294) (PMCID:PMC10910677)

Blake, C. et al. (2024) Participatory systems mapping for population health research, policy and practice: guidance on method choice and design. Documentation. University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. (doi: 10.36399/gla.pubs.316563).

Hjelmskog, Annika ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4982-9621 (2023) Using the Doughnut Economics Framework to Structure Whole-Systems Thinking in Socioecological Wellbeing with Multidisciplinary Stakeholders: An Applied Case Study in Glasgow, Scotland. UK Public Health Science: A National Conference Dedicated to New Research in UK Public Health, London, UK, 24 November 2023. (doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02057-3)

Griffiths, C. et al. (2023) A complex systems approach to obesity: a transdisciplinary framework for action. Perspectives in Public Health, 143(6), pp. 305-309. (doi: 10.1177/17579139231180761) (PMID:37395317) (PMCID:PMC10683338)

Boyd, Jennifer, Hayes, Kate, Green, Dan, Angus, Colin and Holmes, John (2023) The contribution of health behaviour to socioeconomic inequalities in alcohol harm: analysis of the UK Biobank, a large cohort study with linked health outcomes. SSM - Population Health, 23, 101443. (doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101443) (PMID:37334333) (PMCID:PMC10275713)

Höhn, A. et al. (2023) Systems science methods in public health: what can they contribute to our understanding of and response to the cost-of-living crisis? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 77(9), pp. 610-616. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2023-220435) (PMID:37328262) (PMCID:PMC10423532)

Warde, Alan, Sasso, Alessandro, Holmes, John, Hernández Alava, Monica, Stevely, Abigail K. and Meier, Petra S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2023) Situated drinking: the association between eating and alcohol consumption in Great Britain. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 40(3), pp. 301-318. (doi: 10.1177/14550725231157222) (PMID:37255611) (PMCID:PMC10225964)

Hjelmskog, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4982-9621 and Deas, I. (2023) The equity implications of an expanded health and wellbeing role for housing associations. Public Health in Practice, 5, 100355. (doi: 10.1016/j.puhip.2023.100355) (PMID:37346378) (PMCID:PMC10280050)

Broadbent, Philip, Thomson, Rachel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3060-939X, Kopasker, Daniel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2636-8431, McCartney, Gerry ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6341-3521, Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933, Richiardi, Matteo, McKee, Martin and Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6593-9092 (2023) The public health implications of the cost-of-living crisis: outlining mechanisms and modelling consequences. Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 27, 100585. (doi: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100585) (PMID:37035237) (PMCID:PMC10068020)

Franklin, R. S. et al. (2023) Making space in geographical analysis. Geographical Analysis, 55(2), pp. 325-341. (doi: 10.1111/gean.12325)

Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933, Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6593-9092 and Smith, Katherine (2023) Bold action is needed to strengthen primary prevention. British Medical Journal, 380, p595. (doi: 10.1136/bmj.p595) (PMID:36921929)

Elsenbroich, Corinna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4326 and Polhill, J. Gareth (2023) Agent-based modelling as a method for prediction for complex social systems. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 26(2), pp. 133-142. (doi: 10.1080/13645579.2023.2152007)

Elsenbroich, Corinna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4326 and Badham, Jennifer (2023) Negotiating a future that is not like the past. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 26(2), pp. 207-213. (doi: 10.1080/13645579.2022.2137935)

Hardie, Iain ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4694-3755, Sasso, Alessandro, Holmes, John and Meier, Petra S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2023) Understanding changes in the locations of drinking occasions in Great Britain: an age-period-cohort analysis of repeat cross-sectional market research data, 2001-2019. Drug and Alcohol Review, 42(1), pp. 105-118. (doi: 10.1111/dar.13562) (PMID:36222548) (PMCID:PMC10092301)

Boyd, Jennifer, Wilson, Rebekah, Elsenbroich, Corinna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4326, Heppenstall, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-3437 and Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2022) Agent-based modelling of health inequalities following the complexity turn in public health: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(24), 16807. (doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416807) (PMID:36554687) (PMCID:PMC9779847)

Occhipinti, J.-A. et al. (2022) Measuring, modeling, and forecasting the Mental Wealth of Nations. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 879183. (doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.879183) (PMID:35968431) (PMCID:PMC9368578)

Hardie, Iain ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4694-3755, Stevely, Abigail K., Sasso, Alessandro, Meier, Petra S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 and Holmes, John (2022) The impact of changes in COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on alcohol consumption and drinking occasion characteristics in Scotland and England in 2020: an interrupted time-series analysis. Addiction, 117(6), pp. 1622-1639. (doi: 10.1111/add.15794) (PMID:35108758)

Brand-Correa, Lina, Brook, Anna, Büchs, Milena, Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933, Naik, Yannish and O’Neill, Daniel W. (2022) Economics for people and planet – moving beyond the neoclassical paradigm. Lancet Planetary Health, 6(4), E371-E379. (doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00063-8) (PMID:35397225) (PMCID:PMC9226380)

Gibbs, Naomi K., Angus, Colin, Dixon, Simon, Parry, Charles D.H., Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933, Boachie, Micheal K. and Verguet, Stéphane (2022) Equity impact of minimum unit pricing of alcohol on household health and finances among rich and poor drinkers in South Africa. BMJ Global Health, 7(1), e007824. (doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007824) (PMID:34992078) (PMCID:PMC8739056)

Naik, Y., Brook, A., Perraton, J. and Meier, Petra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2021) Fiscal and monetary policies: the cutting edge of advocacy and research on population health and climate change. Perspectives in Public Health, 141(6), pp. 325-327. (doi: 10.1177/17579139211059983)

Holmes, John, Angus, Colin, Sasso, Alessandro, Stevely, Abigail K. and Meier, Petra S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-1933 (2021) What proportion of on-trade alcohol is served to those who are already potentially intoxicated? An analysis of event-level data. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 82(5), pp. 602-609. (doi: 10.15288/jsad.2021.82.602) (PMID:34546906) (PMCID:PMC7611694)

This list was generated on Sat Jan 31 05:34:16 2026 GMT.

Research Projects

	Policy Modelling for Health Providing better evidence for policy decisions that address the economic determinants of health and health inequalities
	GALLANT: Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation Taking a whole-systems approach to key environmental challenges, identifying co-benefits and trade-offs for public health, wellbeing and economy
	OPTIMA: Orienting Policy Towards Inequality Minimising Actions A systems science approach to 20-minute neighbourhood policy design and evaluation
	STRIKE: Social Ties, Relationships, Interactions, Knowledge Exchange Identifying and scoping the data infrastructure needed to build a national picture of social interactions in the UK
	EQUALISE: ESRC Centre for Lifecourse health Equity Building health data science infrastructure to address health-inequalities from a life course perspective
	AI4CI: Artificial Intelligence for Collective Intelligence Hub Exploring how AI can be used to support smart city design
	SOCITS Project: A SOCial sITuational Systems approach to measuring and modelling influences on adolescent mental health New data/methods for researchers, teachers, and young people to understand adolescent mental health, focusing on interactions and social situations
	EXAMPLER: Exo-scale agent-based modelling for policy evaluation in real-time Developing software, data and institutional support for the use of large-scale (exascale) computing for modelling policy scenarios
	SIPHER: Systems science In Public Health and Health Economics Research Development of systems-based economic evaluation methods and tools to help policy-makers understand the costs and benefits of policy measures implemented in different sectors
	CoWBells: Community Wealth Building in Scotland Evaluation Evaluating the health outcomes of community wealth building in Scotland
	MicMac: Evaluating the impact of major income support policies on health inequalities across the life course: A micro-macro linked modelling study Computational modelling of the impacts of government income support policies on health
	Applying Agent-Based Modelling to the Development and Evaluation of Improved Policies for Health and Wellbeing in Scotland Computational modelling of four key wellbeing policy areas in Scotland