Professor Nicholas Mays is Professor of Health Policy in the Department of Health Services Research and Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where he has been since 2003.  

He also directs the Department of Health-funded Policy Research Unit in policy innovation research. This is an innovative venture that began in January 2011 aimed at involving a multi-disciplinary team of researchers in the very earliest stages of national policy development across health services, social care and public health.

Nicholas was until recently also Scientific Coordinator of the Department of Health-funded Health Reform Evaluation Programme which aimed to evaluate the impact of two sets of major reforms of the English NHS: firstly, the market-related reforms of the period 2002-10,  and secondly, the changes following the 2008 Next Stage Review, 'High quality care for all'.  

Nicholas has a background in social policy, policy analysis and health care policy evaluation.

He has experience as a policy advisor in Government, having been Principal Health Policy Advisor in the New Zealand Treasury, 1998-2003. He continues to advise the New Zealand Ministry of Health and New Zealand Treasury on health system strategy. From 1994 to 1998 he was Director of Health Services Research at The King's Fund, London.

Overall, Nicholas has 30 years' experience in health services research and policy evaluation.