Professor Ashton has had extensive experience of bridging both academic and practical worlds, and has been associated with some of the most celebrated public health interventions of the past 30 years in Europe and globally through collaborations with WHO and municipalities. These include action to tackle teenage pregnancy, the advent of HIV/Aids and a range of significant disasters and health emergencies. He was one of the founders of the WHO Healthy Cities Project,
established the first UK Public Health Observatory, the first large scale syringe exchange programme and is known internationally for his work on Health Advocacy.