ProfessorFrank Kelly

Professor Frank Kelly, CBE FMedSci FIEnvSc FRCP (Hons), FKC FRSB FRSC PhD, holds the inaugural Humphrey Battcock Chair in Community Health and Policy, within the School of Public Health in a new global centre of air pollution research. He previously served as Chair of Environmental Health at King's College London, where he was Director of the Environmental Research Group, Director of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards and Deputy Director of the MRC Centre for Environment & Health.

The substantial research activity, over which he presides, spans all aspects of air pollution research from toxicology through to science policy. The experimental research examines the toxicity of airborne particulate matter, diesel and biodiesel exhaust emissions, wood smoke and identifies of biomarkers of exposure. A new area of investigation is ambient microplastics, where work is focusing on their identification, detection and potential health effects. He has led studies on the urban airshed within London, including the impact of the introduction of London’s Congestion Charging Zone and the Ultra Low Emission Zone. During his leadership at King’s, the London Air Quality Network developed into a first class dissemination and education resource for London residents.

New areas of research interest include, 1) the impact of climate change air quality and hence health through increasing harmful ground-level ozone and increasing exposure to allergens like pollen an 2) indoor air quality. Children growing up in the UK today represent an 'indoor child generation', with most of their activities taking place within enclosed spaces, primarily homes and schools, with chemically diverse and often complex air quality environments. Even so, despite its importance in human exposure terms, links between indoor air quality in its widest sense and public health is a relatively under-researched area.

Professor Kelly has published over 480 peer-reviewed papers as well as many conference papers and books (as author or editor) on the toxicology and health effects of ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate pollution. He provides policy support to the World Health Organisation on air pollution issues and is a member of the Health Effects Institute (HEI) Review Committee. He is past Chairman of COMEAP, the UK’s Department of Health’s Expert Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, past President of the European Society for Free Radical Research and past Chairman of the British Association for Lung Research.

Contact: Laura Ruane l.ruane@imperial.ac.uk



Leadership Roles:

Battcock Chair of Community Health and Policy, Imperial College London

Deputy Director of the MRC Centre for Environment and Health

Director, Environmental Research Group, Imperial College London


Key Research Interests:

Oxidant/antioxidant imbalances in patient groups, preterm babies, asthmatics, cystic fibrosis and lung transplant patients

Mechanisms of underlying air pollution related health issues

Development of model system to access oxidative potential of ambient particulate matter

Impact of London's Congestion Charging Zone and Low Emission Zone

Biomarkers of exposure in toxicity of PM associated metals and quinones, diesel and biodiesel exhaust emissions, wood smoke

Ambient microplastics

Indoor air pollution


Key Research Projects:

HBKU-Imperial. Funding - HBKU 2025-2027

MRC Centre for Environment and Health (Extension). Funding - MRC 2024-2026

WellHome: West London Healthy Home and Environment Study. Funding - NERC 2021-2025

Maximising the impact, reach and scalability of the Breathe London Community Network. Funding - Bloomberg Philanthropies 2021-2024

Previous Awards:

Investigating the impact of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone on Children's respiratory health. Funding - NIHR 2018-2023

London Substantive Site for HDR UK. Funding - HDR-UK 2018-2023

Local Air Quality Emission Measurement Facility. Funding - Kusuma Trust 2021-2022

Using metabolomics to investigate the metabolic signatures and associated pathways linked to short-term exposure to air pollutants. Funding - MRC 2019-2022

Pathways to Equitable Health Cities (London Hub for Urban Health). Funding - Wellcome Trust 2018-2022

Exposure to particulate matter on the London Underground in healthy subjects and patients with chronic respiratory disease. Funding - MRC 2019-2021

Identifying the mechanisms for the effects of air pollution on cardiopulmonary disease in Beijing, China. Funding - NERC 2019-2021

Health Impact of Environmental Hazards. Funding - NIHR 2014-2020

Assessing the impact of the Mayor's schools air quality audit, recommendations in reducing pupils' exposure to poor air quality - feasibility and base line data collection. Funding - NIHR 2018-2019

Health 1UP2 - Differentiated health impacts of primary and secondary ultra fine particles. Funding - EC European Commission 2017-2019

Advanced UK Observing Network for Air Quality, Public Health and Greenhouse Gas Research. Funding - NERC 2017-2022

Effects of air pollution on cardiopulmonary disease in urban and per-urban residents. Funding - NERC 2016-2019

New Methods for Quantifying Sources of Black Carbon. Funding - NPL Management Ltd 2014-2018

COPE: Characterisation of COPD Exacerbation using Environmental Exposure Modelling. Funding - MRC 2014-2018

Improving communication with the public about antivirals and vaccination during the next pandemic. Funding - Department of Health 2013-2015

Life Study: core scientific leadership and management team. Funding - Economic and Social Research Council 2013-2016

MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre. Funding - MRC 2012-2018


Current Postgraduate PhD Supervision:

Al-Sulaiti, A Panel Study on the Health Impacts of Indoor Air Quality2017-2025

Li, Sutong Association between indoor air pollution and accelerated cognitive impairment in older adults: mediating effects of sleep patterns – An IoT-based pilot study 2023 - 2027


Previous Postgraduate PhD Supervision:

Boeifot, K Characterization of the bioaerosol background in different environments and its impact on biological detection, identification, monitoring and attribution.2017-2025

Ardiyani, V Effects of Benzo(a)pyrene released by Forest Fires on Pregnant Women and their offspring in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia 2017

Bassey, E Investigating the effects of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPS) on respiratory health: A comparative study of population at risk of exposure of air pollution from the gas flaring and solid cooking fuels 2017

Levermore, J The potential for microplastics to impact human health 2016-date

Pribadi, A Analysis of coal dust exposure in Indonesia 2016

Zhang, H The association between air pollutant mass/chemical composition (for PM.5 only) and human health, using ambient and personal exposure, and if possible also indoor exposure 2016

Camina Garcia, N Quantifying the toxicological potential of photochemical aged ambient particulate matter. Study aims: The aim of this project is the quantification of the toxicological potential of photochemical aged ambient particulate matter (PM)2014



Guest Lectures

2026 Lectures

Plastic Pollution under the influence of climate change: Frontiers in Science - 20th February

Air quality indexes - Key considerations and roadmaps for best practices

Air pollution exposure - measurement & modelling - Taipei University 2nd - 10th May

London's Air Pollution Story: From Pea Soup Smog to an Ultra-Low Emission City

Pollutant reductions in London - Efforts improving urban air quality over recent years - ISG CREATE Symposium, Singapore - June 

2025 Lectures

London's Air Pollution Story: From pea soup smog to an ultra-low emission city, University of Exeter - 14th January

Health, Climate Change and the Air Quality challenges ahead, Association of Physicians of Great Britain & Ireland Annual meeting - 3rd-4th April

Air Pollution & Health: From traditional to emerging pollutants, Climate Change and Environmental Health Launch, Nanyang University, Singapore - 14th-16th April

Ambient microplastics and their potential health effects, Taipei Medical University School of Public Health 16th May

Clinical and toxicological studies on the health effects of air pollution and policy advances in London, Rostock University 21st-23rd May

London's Air Pollution Story: From pea soup smog to an ultra-low emission city, Friends of Imperial

2024 Lectures

Joint UK & Ireland Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology and Exposure Science Annual meeting, on 'London's Air Pollution Story: From Pea soup smog to an ultra-low emission city - 1st-2nd July

MRC Prevention Group Workshop

Emissions Analytics Conference, Irvine, California on, Should we worry that tyre and road wear particles now dominate transport emissions? - 24th-25th April

British Toxicology Society, Plenary Lecture on, 'Air Pollution and Public Health: emerging hazards and improved understanding of risk - 15th-17th April

Bromley Friends of the Earth on, 'Is London's Air Quality improving? From smog to ULEZ' - 2nd April

RespiraMI - Recent Advances on Air Pollution and Health Seminar, Milan, Italy on, ' Air Quality Policy in the UK: the new political football' - 28th Feb-1st March

NERC Teaching - on, 'London's Air Pollution Story: From Pea soup smog to an ultra-low emission city' - 19th February


2023 Lectures

Distinguished Lecture Series - John Saffell - October

Almaty City on, 'London's Air Pollution story: From Pea soup smog to an ultra-low emission city - 22nd August

Air Pollution Health Effects on, 'Air Pollution: is a worldwide problem' 22nd August

Royal College of Physicians on, 'The health impacts of air pollution across the life course' - 19th July

Clean Air Day on, 'Cognitive decline, dementia and air pollution – A report by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants ', 15th June

Royal Society of Chemistry Sustainability in the Research and Innovation Endeavour - 16th and 17th May

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Improving London's Air Quality - 15th May

WellHome - a Community Engagement project at White City Indoor Air Quality and Health: Parliamentary and carbon monoxide group - 10th May

Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality Air Health 'Working Group Party - 23rd February