Professor Wendy Wills is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) at the University of Hertfordshire. She takes overall leadership for the strategic delivery of research and research degrees as well as overseeing Business, Enterprise and Innovation. She was previously the Director of the Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care (CRIPACC) and an Associate Dean (Research) for the School of Health and Social Work at the University of Hertfordshire.
Wendy became the Director of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) for the East of England in October 2022, having previously led their Prevention and Early Detection in Health and Social Care (PEDHSC) theme.
As Professor of Food and Public Health, Wendy’s own research focuses on the socio-economic determinants of health and wellbeing particularly in relation to obesity, food practices and malnutrition; she has a particular interest in how inequalities are experienced by different population groups.
Wendy has directed many major research grants, including for the NIHR, ESRC and Food Standards Agency. Wendy was previously joint Chief Investigator for an NIHR Public Health Intervention Response Studies Team (PHIRST), which aims to co-produce research and evaluation for local authorities across the UK.