Theresa Marteau is Director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on the development and evaluation of interventions to change behaviour (principally food, tobacco and alcohol consumption) to improve population health and reduce health inequalities, with a particular focus on targeting non-conscious processes. Other research interests include (a) risk perception and communication particular of biomarker-derived risks, and their weak links with behaviour change, and (b) acceptability to publics and policy makers of government intervention to change behaviour.

She co-chairs The Lancet-Chatham House Commission on improving population health post COVID-19, focusing on identifying key actions for equitable and sustainable improvements in health.

She currently participates in the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), responding to Covid-19, and in particular, two SAGE subgroups: the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) and the Environmental Modelling Group (EMG).