David Phillips has been Chair Professor of Social Policy at Lingnan University, Hong Kong, since 1997. From 2004 to 2008, he was Academic Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and Academic Dean of Social Sciences, 2008-2010. He was also Head of the Department of Sociology and Social Policy (1999-2004; 2014-2017), and Founder Director of the Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies (APIAS). 

David’s research and teaching interests are in global health, social gerontology and social epidemiology, with particular emphasis on social policy and developments in health and welfare. He currently researches widely on issues related to global health; ageing, health and the environment; epidemiological transition; age-friendly cities and communities, and factors affecting universal health coverage. In Lingnan University, he was Founder-Director of the Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies (APIAS) and he was the founder Co-ordinator of the Asian Ageing Research Network of the Asian Development Research Forum, which was sponsored by Canadas International Development Research Centre (IDRC). He was Professor of Human Geography at the University of Nottingham and Head of Department, and Co-Director of its World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Spatial Health Modelling. Prior to that, he was Reader in Health Studies at the University of Exeter and Director of the Institute of Population Studies and its Collaborating Centre in the WHO Human Reproduction Programme. He was also a Non-Executive Director of the Devon Family Health Services Authority (UK National Health Service). David has longstanding research experience in many countries of the Asia-Pacific and South Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. He has held visiting appointments or external examinerships at several universities, including the University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore, the University of the West Indies, the University of the Philippines and the University of Ulster. He has received research support from a wide range of sources. He has been an adviser and resource person for the WHO, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and other UN bodies, especially the World Health Organization and its Western Pacific Regional Office. He is an elected member of the Academia Europaea (The Academy of Europe) and a Corresponding Member of Belgium’s Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS). He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning in Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, and in the Department of Health, Aging and Society at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada. He was formerly a Special Professor in the University of Nottingham.