I am a social anthropologist with over 20 years’ experience of applied health and social research. My PhD from the University of Edinburgh was based on ethnographic research in Malaysia and this training in the anthropology of Southeast Asia has led to recent collaborations with colleagues in Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia. My research includes innovative transdisciplinary collaborations involving colleagues in aquaculture, veterinary science and medicine as well as a large body of research in place-based approaches to mental health and wellbeing in the UK, Europe and Southeast Asia. I also have expertise in process evaluation embedded within randomised controlled trials of both complex and pharmacological interventions. Current grants total circa £3.3 million. Funding sources have included Global Challenges Research Fund (MRC and AHRC), Scottish Government, NHS Health Scotland, CSO, NIHR and EU Health Programme. I am currently developing research that addresses the complex health and social needs of people living in disadvantaged communities drawing on a community assets approach.