Michael Depledge is Emeritus Professor of Environment and Human Health and founder of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, (University of Exeter). He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Honorary Professor of Public Policy at University College, London. From 2002-2006 he served as the Chief Scientific Advisor of the Environment Agency, later becoming a founding board member of Natural England (2006-9) and a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (2006-11).

Depledge is a prominent scientist recognised for taking an interdisciplinary approach to both medical and ecotoxicological research. His innovative research has provided new insights into diverse topics ranging from drug and radiation toxicity in leukaemia patients, to biomarkers of pollution impacts in marine ecosystems. His recent work explores how time spent in nature can foster physical and mental health.

Depledge has been a policy advisor to the UK Government, WHO, UNEP and the European Commission. He is currently Special Advisor to the Eden Project. In 2017 he was awarded a CBE for services to environment and human health sciences.