Thomas Scharf is Professor of Social Gerontology in the Institute of Health & Society at Newcastle University. He is President-Elect of the British Society of Gerontology and chair of the Age-Friendly City group in Newcastle. Before moving to Newcastle in 2016, Tom was Director of the Irish Centre for Social Gerontology, NUI Galway (2010-2015) and Director of the Centre for Social Gerontology, Keele University (2006-2010). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and has held visiting professorships at the universities in Manchester, Keele, Vienna and Galway. Tom’s particular research focus is on topics relating to social exclusion and inequalities in later life and to the ways in which experiences of ageing differ across different types of community, including rural and disadvantaged urban communities. His most recent book, co-edited with Norah Keating, is From Exclusion to Inclusion in Old Age: A Global Challenge (Policy Press, 2012).
