Dr Simon WilliamsAcademic

Biography

Dr Simon Williams is a Lecturer in Psychology and public health researcher at Swansea University, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University, Chicago. He also holds a consultancy role with the World Health Organisation. He completed his PhD in Sociology and Social Policy at Cardiff University, and has previously held positions at Aston University, the University of Bath and the University of Cambridge. He is known for his work on the health impacts of extreme heat, particularly the disproportionate risks faced by older adults, and has argued that such heatwave-related health consequences are emerging sooner and at lower levels of warming than previously understood. His broader public health research spans pandemic policy, COVID-19 health behaviours, and corporate influences on public health, and has been covered by outlets including the BBC, The Times, and Science Magazine.

References

1. 1.Dr Simon Williams – Swansea University staff page — Role title, organisation, academic background, prior positions, research focus areas, media coverage
2. 2.New warning over heat risks for people aged over 60 – Irish Examiner — Identifies Williams as an expert in heat and health inequalities at Swansea University; records his public commentary on heatwave risks for older adults
3. 3.Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thought – AOL UK — Further press citation as heat and health inequalities expert at Swansea University
4. 4.Extreme heat: 'We're really starting now to understand how global climate is impacting our health' – France 24 — Describes Williams as Behavioural Scientist, WHO Consultant, Lecturer in Psychology and public health researcher at Swansea University; records his views on extreme heat and older adult vulnerability
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Elderly care & frailty

Stated areas of expertise

• Heat and human health
• Health inequalities
• Pandemic and public health policy
• Behavioural science and public health
• COVID-19 health behaviours
• Corporate influences on public health

Notable achievements

• Led a longitudinal study on UK public views of COVID-19 policy, with findings presented to the Welsh Parliament (Senedd Cymru) Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and the Minister for Health. Source ↗
• Quoted as an expert on heat and health inequalities in press coverage of a major Stanford University-led study on age-stratified vulnerability to extreme heat, including in the Irish Examiner and AOL UK. Source ↗
• Submitted written evidence to the UK Parliament on COVID-19 policy impacts on protected characteristic groups, drawing on his Swansea University public health research. Source ↗
• Research on COVID-19 public attitudes covered by BBC Newsnight, BBC News, BBC Wales, BBC ONE, ITV Wales, BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC Radio 4, among others. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “One thing we learned from Covid is how important it is that messages from health authorities and governments are clear and aligned. When people receive conflicting, unclear or mixed messages about health advice, such as when to wear masks, this can be confusing for people and can undermine the messages.”

  behavioural scientist and public health researcher at Swansea University · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Health experts criticise NHS chief’s remarks that people with flu symptoms ‘must wear face masks’ ↗

• “The lack of new cases is a good sign and may signal that the Kent outbreak has been contained. However, we can't rule out [that] there are no further cases linked to this outbreak because the latency period, the time between exposure and symptom or disease alert, for MenB can sometimes be longer than a few days.”

  public health expert at Swansea University · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · No new meningitis cases linked to Kent outbreak found, health agency says ↗

• “This is a very significant study, with findings suggesting that heatwaves and extreme heat exposure is going to be a growing threat to human health in the coming years. In particular, it shows that heatwaves have unequal health impacts, with older adults particularly vulnerable.”

  expert in the impact of heat on human health and the resulting inequalities at Swansea University · Elderly care & frailty · 27 Aug 2026 · Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thought ↗

Source references

1. Health experts criticise NHS chief’s remarks that people with flu symptoms ‘must wear face masks’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. No new meningitis cases linked to Kent outbreak found, health agency saystheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thoughttheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/s.n.williams/
• Xhttps://x.com/drsimonwilliamspublished here ↗
• Websitehttps://theconversation.com/profiles/simon-nicholas-williams-994984
• Websitehttps://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3otBRjAAAAAJ&hl=en

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.