Glasgow Changing Futures

Three Associate Leads will work alongside Academic Lead Professor Petra Meier to help advance HEF's vision of a future in which everyone can enjoy long and healthy lives, now and for generations to come.  

Together, the three Associate Leads will provide strategic leadership capacity across key elements of the HEF portfolio, helping to connect expertise from across the University's Colleges while building relationships with policymakers, communities, practitioners and international partners. Their roles were established to support the development of a vibrant, interdisciplinary community capable of creating the ideas, evidence, networks and public conversations needed to shape healthier and more equitable futures. 

As they begin working together, the HEF leadership team has identified a set of ambitions that will guide its work: 

• Catalysing bold, interdisciplinary research that helps societies anticipate, adapt to and influence threats to health, wellbeing and equity. 

• Creating opportunities for people to imagine, debate and co-create more hopeful and sustainable futures. 

• Building strategic partnerships that connect academic excellence with policy, civic and international action. 

• Generating the evidence, insights and ideas needed to improve health, wellbeing and equity for current and future generations. 

• Positioning the University as a leading contributor to national and international debate and action on the future of health, wellbeing and equity. 

Benjamin Hunter is a Senior Lecturer in Political and International Studies at the School of Social and Political Sciences. 

Ben says: 

It is a real pleasure to be joining the GCF team and the challenge area for Healthy and Equitable Futures. Since joining Glasgow I have often been struck by the breadth of innovative work going on across the university relevant to health equity issues, and the engagement and reach across local, national and global spaces. I'm delighted to now have an opportunity to work with established and emerging research teams to bring their research into conversation with wide and diverse audiences while exploring ways to embed the challenge-led thinking of GCF across the institution. 

Read more about Ben and his research 

Jude Robinson is Professor of Health and Wellbeing in Social Anthropology & Migrations, in the School of Social & Political Sciences, CoSS.  

Jude says: 

I am excited by the opportunity to join the Healthy & Equitable Futures team within GCF. Working collaboratively across disciplinary and geographical boundaries and employing diverse research methods to address pressing global health challenges, offers a stimulating environment for innovation. I look forward to contributing to the development of equitable and sustainable solutions that improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities. 

Read more about Jude and her research

Hing Leung is Professor of Urology and Surgical Oncology in the School of Cancer Sciences 

Hing says: 

I am honoured and excited to help galvanise expertise from across the University and key stakeholders to address the most pressing aspects of health inequalities in our society. Healthy & Equitable Futures offers a unique opportunity to leverage clinical insight, innovations in research and interdisciplinary cross-sector collaborations in a holistic manner to deliver timely and impactful solutions to improve lives and support healthier communities locally and globally for generations to come. 

Read more about Hing and his research

Professor Petra Meier, Academic Lead for Healthy & Equitable Futures, said: 

Healthy and equitable futures cannot be built by any one discipline, sector or institution working alone. Jude, Hing and Ben bring outstanding expertise, leadership and networks, but just as importantly they share a commitment to collaboration and innovation. Together, we will work with colleagues across the University and beyond to generate new ideas, support ambitious partnerships, and create opportunities for Glasgow to play a leading role in shaping healthier and fairer futures.

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First published: 28 August 2026