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Four decades in Public Health with Professor Eugene Milne MBE

In the latest episode of the Fuse podcast, public partner Victoria Bartle chats to Eugene Milne, Honorary Emeritus Professor of Public Health and retired Director of Public Health (DPH) for Newcastle upon Tyne, who was recently awarded an MBE for services to Public Health and Wellbeing.

The ‘Public Health Research and Me’ podcast is led by the public partners of Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, to bridge the gap that sometimes occurs between research and public audiences.

In this second episode, host and Fuse Public Partner, Victoria Bartle, speaks to Professor Eugene Milne about a distinguished career in public health spanning four decades: from nicotine-stained bus roofs in Hull and moving to Newcastle to study medicine in his early years - to founding Fuse, tackling smoking in the North East and responding to Covid-19 as DPH for Newcastle City Council.

Eugene shares his thoughts on the public health strategy for the North East and discusses the importance of collaborative working and public involvement. Victoria quizzes Eugene about future public health initiatives, his proudest moments as Director of Public Health and any key messages he might have for central government.

Eugene answers the big question: "If you had one message for our listeners to take away, what would it be?" Listen now to find out.

More about our guest

Eugene Milne has recently retired as the Director of Public Health at Newcastle City Council and has been awarded an MBE for his leadership of Newcastle’s public health response to Covid-19. Eugene is an Honorary Emeritus Professor of Public Health at Newcastle University and was awarded the FPH Alwyn Smith Prize in 2022 for “outstanding contribution to public health”. He has published work on tobacco control, ageing, health economics and a variety of public health topics.

About our host

Victoria Bartle is this episode's host. She is a public partner who has collaborated closely with Fuse and the wider public partner-led podcast planning group in creating the 'Public Health Research & Me' podcast. Victoria has been involved with research from a patient and public perspective since she had to stop working in 2016 due to multiple long-term health conditions. Victoria is passionate about health and social care research, and feels that the input from every public partner makes research more focused and beneficial to all.

Resources and further information


If you are a fan of our ‘Public Health Research and Me’ podcast, please subscribe, rate or review, and share with your friends, families, colleagues and networks.

The podcast is available on AppleGoogleSpotify and Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcast.

With special thanks to the Fuse podcast group (Emma Adams, Victoria Bartle, David Black, Cheryl Blake, Mandy Cheetham, Lesley Haley, Fiona Ling, Cassey Muir, John O’Shea, Laura Ritson, Viola Rook, Cheryl Wiscombe), David Winter (editing) and Shaun O'Boyle (training). Produced by Ella Anderson, Fuse Public Involvement and Engagement Manager and Mark Welford, Fuse Communications Manager.

Last modified: Wed, 15 Nov 2023 14:27:41 GMT