Professor Sean Semple

Sean joined the Institute of Social Marketing in January 2018 after 20 years working at the University of Aberdeen. He is interested in human exposure science with particular emphasis on the health effects of indoor air pollution, tobacco control research, and occupational epidemiology. His translational research work is focused on air quality measurement and interventions relating to second-hand smoke, biomass fuel smoke and workplace inhalation hazards.  

Sean is the author of over 150 research publications cited over 4600 times, and editor of text-book ‘Monitoring Health Hazards at Work’ (translated in to Chinese, 2012).

He is/has recently been chief investigator or co-investigator on research projects from the MRC, European Commission (H2020), National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and the Chief Scientist’s Office (Scotland). Sean's recent research program has had a significant impact on public health policy to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke in Scotland. He was chief Investigator of the BHETSE study which was seminal in examining how Scotland’s smoke-free law impacted on air quality and workers’ health. This work was adapted for use in England and Wales, used as an international example of how to examine the effects of legislation designed to improve public health, and is now cited in MRC guidance for the evaluation of natural experiments. He serves on the Scottish Government’s Research and Evaluation Working Group on Tobacco Control and worked closely with policy makers on a Parliamentary Member’s bill to prohibit smoking in cars carrying children. Research from his team was influential on the recent Scottish Government media campaign to reduce the number of children exposed to second-hand smoke at home by 50% by 2020. 

Sean has a wide range of international collaborations with academics, policy makers, public and third-sector organisations including: Action for Smoking & Health Scotland, the University of Edinburgh, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (where he is a visiting professor), Makerere University Uganda, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Imperial College London and NHS Lanarkshire.