Professor Roy Harrison OBE FRS

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Queen Elizabeth II Birmingham Centenary Professor of Environmental Health

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0)121 41 43494
Email: r.m.harrison@bham.ac.uk

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Address: School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston Campus
Birmingham
B15 2TT
United Kingdom

Roy Harrison’s research interests lie in the field of environment and human health. His main specialism is in air pollution, from emissions through atmospheric chemical and physical transformations to exposure and effects on human health. Much of this work is designed to inform the development of policy.

Qualifications

B.Sc. (Class I Honours Chemistry) - University of Birmingham (July 1969)

Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry) - University of Birmingham (December 1972)

D.Sc. (Environmental Chemistry) - University of Birmingham (July 1989)

Biography

Roy Harrison is Queen Elizabeth II Birmingham Centenary Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Birmingham, UK, and also Distinguished Adjunct Professor at King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. His research interests are in air pollution, especially airborne particulate matter. He has also been heavily engaged at the science/policy interface as a member of several government technical advisory groups for the Department of Health and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the U.K. including past membership of Defra’s Science Advisory Council. He was a contributor to the World Health Organization Global Air Quality Guidelines and the Guidelines for Quality of Indoor Air. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 New Year Honours List and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2017. He is author of over 660 papers in the peer-reviewed literature, and is listed by Web of Science as a Highly Cited Researcher.

Teaching

Module Lead, Causes & Effects of Air Pollution

Postgraduate supervision

Roy Harrison has carried out pioneering research in: airborne particle concentrations and numbers in the UK; characterisation of emission and impact of ultrafine particulate matter; measurement and modelling of exposure to air toxics and verification by biomarker; high time-resolution chemical fingerprinting of particulate emissions from the steel industry; and the relationship of ultrafine and fine particles in indoor and outdoor respiratory health. Professor Harrison's recent research projects include:

Artificial chemical ageing of ambient atmospheric aerosol
Novel compact after treatment systems for simultaneous reduction of diesel engine NOx, PM, CO and HC emissions
Use of chemical composition and molecular markers to infer the sources of airborne particulate matter
Understanding the fate of traffic-generated particles

Professor Harrison has successfully supervised at least 30 doctoral researchers working in his areas of interest.

Current Students 1st supervisor:

Ali Alsanad - long-term influence of ambient air pollution exposure on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exacerbation risk, disease progression and quality of life

Seny Damayanti - Nanoparticles in the Urban Atmosphere

Adams Alpha Kamara - In-depth multi-component study of air quality processes

Postgraduate Supervision as 2nd supervisor:

Agung Ghani Kramawijaya - Aerosol Particle Source Apportionment in the Arctic Atmosphere Using PMF Analysis and Isotope Analysis

Maryam Makanvand - New Insights into Air Pollution & Health

Research

Air Pollution; Atmospheric Science; Environmental Health; Environmental Chemistry; Aerosol Science

Other activities

RAE/REF panel memberships:

Member of REF 2014 Panel 7, Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Member of Research Assessment Exercise 2008 Panel 17 in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Member of Research Assessment Exercise 2001 Panel 20/21 in Earth and Environmental Sciences

Current Professional Membership:

Fellow, Royal Society, elected 2017
Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry
Fellow, Royal Meteorological Society
Honorary Fellow, Faculty of Public Health of the Royal College of Physicians
Honorary Fellow, Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FFOM), Royal College of Physicians
Honorary Fellow, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health

Past Professional Membership:

Honorary Vice-President of Environmental Protection UK (2009-2011)

Current Advisory Committee Membership:

Member, DEFRA Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) (2002 - )
Member, Department of Health Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) (1993-2003; 2006 - )
Member, Royal Society Global Environmental Research Committee (2018- )
Member, Royal Society Hooke Committee (2023 - )
Member, Swedish Research Council (Formas) Environment Panel (2023 - )
Member, Department of Transport’s ‘College of Experts’ (CoE) (2023 - )
Editor-in-Chief, Climate and Atmospheric Science, Nature Publishing Group (2016 - )
Associate Editor, Earth Systems & Environment (2016 - )
Member, DETR/DEFRA Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (1991-2002); Deputy Chairman (2003 - ) Now COMEAP Sub-Committee on Standards
Editorial Board Member of Particuology, Toxics, AIMS Environmental Science (2013 - ), Research (2018 -)

Past Advisory Committee Membership:

Member, Royal Society Leverhulme Advanced Fellowship Committee (2020 - 2023)
Member, EASAC Working Group on Climate Change and Health (2018 - 2020)
Chair, External Advisory Board, NIHR HPRU in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards (2014-2019)
Member, International Advisory Committee (IAC), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (2013 - 2022)
Member, International Advisory Board, Exposomics Programme (2012 - 2017)
Member, International Advisory Committee of CESAM (University of Aveiro, Portugal) (2011 - 2021)
Member, Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) (April 2011 - 2019)
World Health Organisation Adviser on Global Air Quality Guidelines (2005 Update); Indoor Air Quality Guidelines (2010) and REVIHAAP (advice to EU) (2013). Expert Advisor on revisions to WHO Air Quality Guidelines (2015)
Member, DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Science Advisory Council (2008–11)
Member, NERC UK Government Nanotechnologies Exposure-Sources, Exposure, Pathways, Technologies Task Force (2006-2012)
Member, NERC Science and Innovation Strategy Board (2004 - 2008)
Member, NERC Peer Review College (2003 - 2007)
Member, DEFRA Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances (2001-2006)
Member, MRC Advisory Board (2000 - 2003)
Chairman, DETR Airborne Particles Expert Group (1997 - 1999)
Member, Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment, Sub-Committee on Diesel Emissions (1995 - 1996)
Member, NERC Atmospheric Science & Technology Board (1995 - 1998)
Chairman, Department of Environment Quality of Urban Air Review Group (1992 - 1997)
Member, Department of Environment Photochemical Oxidants Review Group (1985 - 1997)
Joint Executive Editor of Environmental Technology (1980 - 2016)
Member, Department of Health, Health Advisory Group on Chemical Contamination Incidents
Chairman, Environmental Assessment Group of EUROTRAC II (a EUREKA project)
Member of Editorial Advisory Board, Encyclopaedia of Atmospheric Sciences
Editor, Aerosol and Air Quality Research (AAQR) (2015 - 2016)
Editorial Board Member of Atmospheric Environment, The Science of the Total Environment (1990 – 2018), Journal of Environmental Monitoring, Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health (AIRQ), Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment, Atmospheric Pollution Research, PeerJ (2012 - 2016)

Haagen-Smit Prize Committee:

Member (2000 - 2004; 2010-2016) and Chair (2005 – 2010; 2017) of international selection committee of best papers published in Atmospheric Environment.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Al Marj, E, Mahou, I, Harrison, RM, Pope, FD, Fort, A & Charron, A 2026, 'A Critical Comparison of Exposure Estimators for Airborne Particulate Matter in Urban Cyclists', Toxics, vol. 14, no. 2, 179. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14020179

Liu, X, Wang, M, An, T, Zhang, X, Wang, T, Lara, R, Monge, M, Dufresne, M, Yañez-Serrano, AM, Seco, R, Gohy, M, Petit, P, Chevalier, A, Vagnot, M-P, Fortier, Y, Baudic, A, Ghersi, V, Gille, G, Lanzi, L, Gros, V, Petit, J-E, Simon, L, Hellén, H, Reimann, S, Le Bras, Z, Müller, MJ, Beddows, D, Hou, S, Shi, Z, Harrison, RM, Bloss, W, Dernie, J, Sauvage, S, Lewis, A, Hopkins, J, Duan, X, Hopke, PK, Alastuey, A, Querol, X & Salameh, T 2026, 'Analysis of the abundance and impacts of volatile organic compounds across Europe', npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01378-9

Damayanti, S, Bousiotis, D, Baruah, A, Pope, FD & Harrison, RM 2026, 'An evaluation of methods for normalising short campaign outdoor personal exposure data to improve long-term representativeness using background site measurements', Atmospheric Pollution Research, vol. 17, no. 9, 103147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2026.103147

Du, M, Brean, J, Worsnop, DR, Song, C, Zhang, Y, Chandani, VL, Srivastava, D, Beddows, DCS, Acton, WJF, Baumgardner, D, Browse, J, Callaghan, AB, Canagaratna, M, Dai, Y, Edwards, PM, Jiang, J, Jordan, TM, Lee, JD, Sommariva, R, Stark, H, Tarn, MD, Temple, LG, Tilstone, GH, Yang, M, Bloss, WJ, Harrison, RM, Dall’Osto, M & Shi, Z 2026, 'Arctic cloud condensation nuclei enhanced by iodine, sulfur and organic precursors', Nature Geoscience. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-02062-6

Rovira, J, Yus-Díez, J, Chen, GI, Močnik, G, Gysel-Beer, M, Aas, W, Aurela, M, Backman, J, Banerji, S, Brem, BT, Canals-Angerri, A, Chazeau, B, Daellenbach, KR, de Brito, JF, Diapouli, E, Eleftheriadis, K, Ehn, M, Favez, O, Flentje, H, Gini, MI, Granakis, K, Gregorič, A, Harrison, R, Heikkinen, L, Hueglin, C, Hyvärinen, A, Ivančič, M, Keernik, H, Liakakou, E, Lin, C, Lhotka, R, Luoma, K, Maasikmets, M, Manninen, HE, Manousakas, MI, Marchand, N, Mbengue, S, Mihalopoulos, N, Minguillón, MC, Nicolae, D, Niemi, JV, Ovadnevaite, J, Pérez, N, Petit, J-E, Platt, SM, Pokorná, P, Prévôt, ASH, Riffault, V, Rigler, M, Rinaldi, M, Schwarz, J, Stavroulas, I, Teinemaa, E, Teinilä, K, Timonen, H, Tobler, A, Vasilescu, J, Via, M, Vodička, P, Vratolis, S, Yttri, KE, Zíková, N, Zografou, O, Alastuey, A, Petäjä, T, Querol, X & Pandolfi, M 2026, 'Constraining the intensive absorption properties of ambient organic aerosol particles based on pan-European observations', npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01405-9

Brean, J, Fichot, CG, Beddows, DCS, Worsnop, D, Shi, Z, Harrison, RM, Asmi, E & Dall´Osto, M 2026, 'Continental river runoff enhances atmospheric aerosol formation over the Arctic Ocean', Communications Earth and Environment, vol. 7, no. 1, 52. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02986-8

Wang, Z, Srivastava, D, Alam, MS, Crilley, LR, Kramer, LJ, Rooney, DJ, Saksakulkrai, S, Khare, M, Ascough, P, Bompard, N, Gulliver, P, Shanks, R, Xu, X, Cash, JM, Di Marco, CF, Langford, B, Nemitz, E, Shivani, Gadi, R, Harrison, RM, Bloss, WJ, Shi, G & Shi, Z 2026, 'Dominant contribution of fossil fuel combustion to carbonaceous aerosol pollution in Delhi: Insights from radiocarbon and organic tracers', Journal of Hazardous Materials, vol. 504, 141289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2026.141289

Sun, H, Ni, Y, Kong, F, Liang, L, Harrison, RM, Brook, J, Gai, Z, Su, J, Shen, Z & Yin, H 2026, 'Dual effect of global urban trees on PM_2.5 and associated health burden', npj Urban Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00415-z

Coşgun, MS, Kalkavouras, P, Alver Şahin, Ü, Ayvaz, C, Çolak, Z, Ayvaz, BU, Onat, B, Mihalopoulos, N & Harrison, RM 2026, 'First insights into the new particle formation mechanism in Istanbul', Environmental Pollution, vol. 397, 128018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.128018

Mahowald, NM, Li, L, Gonçalves Ageitos, M, Miller, RL, Pérez García‐Pando, C, Ginoux, P, Obiso, V, Brodrick, PG, Clark, RN, Desboeufs, K, Green, RO, Okin, GS, Thompson, DR, Rathod, S, Gazel, E, Hornby, A, Journet, E, Alaimo, MG, Alves, C, Alastuey, A, Artaxo, P, Baker, AR, Barraza, F, Becagli, S, Buck, CS, Calzolai, G, Chellam, S, Chen, Y, Chuang, PY, Cohen, DD, Colombi, C, Diapouli, E, Dongarra, G, Eleftheriadis, K, Engelbrecht, JP, Galy‐Lacaux, C, Gaston, C, Gomez, D, González Ramos, Y, Hand, J, Harrison, RM, Herut, B, Hopke, PK, Kertesz, Z, Kyllönen, K, Lambert, F, Landing, WM, Losno, R, Lucarelli, F, Maenhaut, W, Marsay, C, Matsui, H, Martin, RV, Morera‐Gómez, Y, Paytan, A, Prospero, J, Rodríguez, S, Sarthou, G, Shelley, R, Siefert, RL, Smichowski, P & Varrica, D 2026, 'Global Model Estimates of Atmospheric Al, Ca, Fe, Si, and Ti From Dust and Non‐Dust Aerosols Informed by EMIT Surface Mineralogy and Evaluated Against Observations', Global Biogeochemical Cycles, vol. 40, no. 5, e2025GB009033. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GB009033

Teng, X, Du, M, Song, C, Dai, Y, Lal Chandani, V, Beddows, DCS, Dall'Osto, M, Baumgardner, D, Harrison, RM, Brean, J, Yang, M, Zhang, Y, Li, W & Shi, Z 2026, 'Greenland Emissions Contribute to Black Carbon Aerosols in the Arctic Marine Boundary Layer', Environmental science & technology, vol. 60, no. 30, pp. 21124-21134. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c03343

Çolak, Z, Coşgun, MS, Alver Şahin, Ü, Ayvaz, C, Ayvaz, BU, Kuzu, SL, Onat, B, Güllü, G, Querol, X & Harrison, RM 2026, 'Interpretation of particle number size distribution, ultrafine particles and black carbon concentrations in Istanbul', Environmental Research, vol. 289, 123300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.123300

Dall'Osto, M, Fitzsimons, MF, Brean, J, Akenga, PC, Jones, A, Lachlan-Cope, T, Sotomayor, A, Berdalet, E, Vaque, D, Harrison, RM, Mansour, K, Rinaldi, M, Decesari, S, Beddows, D & Paglione, M 2026, 'Multiple oceanic sources of alkylamines in Southern Ocean atmospheres', npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, vol. 9, no. 1, 12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01284-6

Dall’osto, M, Rinaldi, M, Estrada, M, Vaqué Vidal, MD, Berdalet, E, Sotomayor, A, Cabrera-Brufau, M, Zeppenfeld, S, Beddows, DCS, Harrison, RM, Van Pinxteren, M, Herrmann, H, Decesari, S & Paglione, M 2026, 'Quality over Quantity: Organic Compounds Altering the Antarctic Sea Spray Aerosol Concentrations', Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 2490-2502. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c07574

Faherty, T, Ellis-Bradford, L-JA, Onyeaka, H, Harrison, RM & Pope, FD 2026, 'Reframing air pollution as a cognitive and socioeconomic risk', npj Clean Air, vol. 2, no. 1, 18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44407-026-00059-4

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Expertise

Air pollution; environment and health; toxic chemicals

Alternative contact number available for this expert: contact the press office

Expertise

air pollution; atmospheric chemistry; effects on health; traffic emissions