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Nathan Hughes

Deputy Director, University of Sheffield

Nathan Hughes is Professor of Adolescent Health and Justice in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield. He joined the University as Professorial Fellow in 2017. He was previously senior lecturer in social policy and social work at the University of Birmingham, and Marie Curie Research Fellow at the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Centre, Melbourne, having completed his PhD at the University of Warwick.

Nathan’s research is primarily concerned with the disproportionate prevalence of various childhood health and developmental difficulties among young people in our criminal justice systems, and the education, social care, housing and justice system practices and interventions that discriminate against, disable and therefore criminalise these young people. He is committed to using this evidence to improve policy and practice, nationally and internationally. Acquired brain injury (ABI) has been a key focus of this work in understanding both prevalence in and experience of criminal justice systems.

Nathan is engaged in a range of policy impact activity. He is co-chair, with Andy MacDonald MP, of the ABI Justice Network, a consortium of charities, senior professionals and academics engaging policymakers, civil servants, and service leads promoting effective policy and practice in support of those with ABI. He is a founding member of NABLES, which seeks to improve educational experiences after an ABI, supported the development of the key Time for Change policy report, and has advised successive New Zealand Principal Youth Court Judges.

Nathan is also inaugural co-chair of the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association special interest group on neurodiversity and law enforcement – one of the thematic issues around which this large, global network of health and justice policymakers, practitioners and academics is organised.

He is also the founding co-chair – with Kerry Albright, Deputy Director, UNICEF – of the Campbell Collaboration Coordinating Group on Children and Young People’s Wellbeing, the world-leading international social science research network for the production and dissemination of high quality, open and policy-relevant evidence syntheses.

Research Interests

  • Childhood developmental disability, and experiences of education, social care and criminal justice
  • The relationships between health and youth crime
  • Legal rights and criminalisation of cognitive and communication impairments
  • Family carers

Social Media

X: @nathanjhughes

Publications