Deborah Lawlor was Born in Bradford, in the North of England, and studied Medicine at Bristol University before working as a doctor in Bradford and Mozambique. She moved back to Bristol in 2000 to study for a PhD. She is now a Professor of Epidemiology in the Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol. Her research is concerned with developing and applying novel causal methods so that we can better understand the causes of adverse reproductive, perinatal and cardio-metabolic health, and the links between those conditions.