speakers

Dr Lynne Kennedy is a Professor in the Department of Public Health, Health College, Qatar University. She has over 30 years’ experience in academic public health, primarily in UK Universities, and in Western Europe as a Tutor for the European Consortia in Health Promotion and Public Health (1994-date), and more recently in the Middle East (2020-date). She has delivered health promotion and public health training to undergraduate, postgraduate health and healthcare students, public health practitioners and policy makers in over 15 European countries, China, Canada and the Middle East. She completed her PhD (Public Health) in 2006, whilst employed (1994-2009) at the University of Liverpool, UK. In 1994 Dr Kennedy was recruited by the University of Liverpool as one of the first UK non-medical academic appointments, where she helped champion the newly formed UK multidisciplinary public health professions; contributing to the design Public Health courses for medical, health care and non-medical public health professionals. She is a member of the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine, Honorary Member by Distinction, in recognition of her contribution to in tackling nutrition inequalities and she is a recipient of the prestigious Welsh Crucible program for policy and research leaders in Wales. She has extensive experience in public health advisory and consultant roles; regional and international public health task forces; government, professional bodies and organisations, and NGO’s in the area of health promotion, health equity, community action, strength-based (salutogenic) approaches to health, and program planning, implementation and evaluation (e.g. ASPHER, IUHPE, WHO, UNICEF, Public Health England, England and Wales Department of Health etc.).  Her research interests lie at the intersection of social science and public health, she has published over 140 academic outputs, delivered key note presentations, and has over 1400 citations, h index of 16, publishing mainly on evaluation and qualitative studies of health promotion interventions and complex health interventions. In Qatar she is developing research agenda around the synergy between health, environments and sustainability and population issues including sustainable and healthy urban cities, age friendly cities, infertility, informal/formal helping in response to the dramatic rise in chronic health conditions in the region, and mental health and wellbeing.