Andrew Haines was Director (formerly Dean) of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine from 2001- October 2010, having been trained in family practice and epidemiology. He practiced as a medical doctor, mainly in primary care for about three decades, combining clinical practice with research and teaching, as well as holding a senior role in the National Health Service.
He developed an interest in climate change and health in the 1990s and was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the 2nd, 3rd and 5th assessment exercises.
Haines was knighted in 2005 for services to medicine.
He chaired the Rockefeller /Lancet Commission on Planetary Health (2014-15) and the InterAcademy Partnership (140 science academies worldwide) working group on climate change and health.
Haines is currently co-chairing the Lancet Pathfinder Commission on health in the zero-carbon economy and the US National Academy of Medicine working group to develop a Roadmap for Transformative Action to Achieve Health for All at Net-Zero Emissions and is Chief Scientific Advisor to the Pan-European Commission on Climate Change and Health. He was awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2022.