Ruth Hunter

Ruth Hunter is a Professor of Public Health and Planetary Health in the Centre for Public Health at Queen’s University Belfast. She will contribute to the Climate + Co-Centre’s research on environmental and climate-related exposures across Ireland. Her work focuses on understanding how changing environmental conditions, including air pollution, extreme weather events, and shifting ecological systems, affect population health across Ireland.

Within the Climate + Co-Centre, Ruth plays a key role in advancing interdisciplinary research that connects climate science with health outcomes. She investigates how climate-driven exposures influence the incidence and progression of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, respiratory illness, and metabolic disorders, and for infectious diseases.

Ruth’s research integrates epidemiology, data analytics, systems thinking and policy engagement to support evidence-based interventions and inform cross-border public health strategies. By fostering collaboration between academic institutions, health services, and policymakers, she helps translate complex research findings into actionable insights that strengthen resilience to climate-related health risks.

Her leadership within the Climate + Co-Centre underscores a commitment to improving population health and reducing inequalities in the face of climate change, ensuring that research contributes directly to sustainable, equitable health systems across Ireland.

Ruth is also the Director of WHO Collaborating Centre