Birgit Toebes is a professor of health law in a global context at the Faculty of Law and scientific director of the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health. Her research, which is embedded in the Groningen Centre for Health Law, is at the intersection of health law, international law and human rights. Within this, she is particularly interested in ‘public health law’ as a field that is developing rapidly, and in which international standards play a crucial role. She facilitates research into the regulation of behavioural risk factors such as smoking, unhealthy diets, alcohol consumption and drugs. In her role at the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, she frequently seeks interaction with other disciplines and with societal partners. From March 2023 to May 2024 she was chair of the Dutch state committee MDMA.