Professor Mark Tomlinson is a qualified clinical psychologist and currently the Co-Director of the Institute for Life Course Health Research Stellenbosch University. He is also Professor of Maternal and Child Health in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queens University, Belfast, UK. His scholarly work has involved a diverse range of topics such as improving early childhood development, maternal mental health, maternal and child health, adolescent health, child and adolescent mental health, and on life course approaches to understanding child and adolescent development. He has a particular interest in the social and environmental determinants of health.