Specialist Registrars

Anna Howells

Public Health Registrar

Anna joined Cardiff and Vale University Health Board in December 2025. Anna leads on Immunisations and the Regional Partnership Board (RPB) Population Needs Assessment for the Public Health Team.

Anna undertook her public health training in Wales, completing a Master’s in Public Health from Cardiff University and working at Public Health Wales and Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board. Anna was selected as a UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Clinical Fellow in 2022, spending a year working on a COVID-19 cohort study of healthcare workers in the UK (the SIREN study).

Prior to public health training, Anna worked in health both in the UK and internationally, working for public and third sector organisations.

Dr Astrid Etherington

Public Health Registrar

Astrid joined the Public Health Specialty Training Programme in 2023. Prior to this, she worked for several years as a Haematology doctor across multiple hospitals in Wales. She recently completed a Master’s in Public Health at Cardiff University, where her dissertation examined the relationship between health and active travel behaviour in Wales.
Before starting public health training, Astrid spent a year working at the General Medical Council and undertook leadership and management training through the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management. This experience strengthened her skills in regulation, quality improvement and healthcare governance.
Astrid has particular interests in women’s health and early years intervention. She will be working with the team until November 2026.

Saqif Mustafa 

Public Health Registrar

Saqif joined Cardiff and Vale’s Public Health Team in October 2024 on placement. He is leading a health needs assessment for people living with type 2 diabetes and working on active/sustainable travel, climate & health, housing & health, project management inter alia. 
Prior to joining the specialty training programme in Wales, Saqif served as a Technical Officer (health systems resilience and essential public health functions) at WHO HQ for five years. He completed his undergraduate medical, intercalated pharmacology, and MSc Global Health Policy, degrees at Edinburgh University, holds a master’s in public health from Cardiff University, and is a PhD candidate at Edinburgh where his research focuses on health systems responses to public health emergencies (e.g., Ebola, COVID-19) in low resource settings. His selected publications can be found here. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health and Member (Diplomate) of the Faculty of Public Health.