Alastair McKinlay heads the Physical Dosimetry Department in the Radiation Protection Division of the Health Protection Agency.

He has been a member of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) since 1992 and was elected as its Chairman in 2000. He has been active in the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) for many years and was elected President of the United Kingdom National Committee. In 1996 he chaired a European Union Expert Group on Mobile Telephony and Human Health whose report set out a comprehensive European research agenda. He is a founder member of the European Society for Skin Cancer Prevention (EUROSKIN) and is currently it's President. He is currently also a member of the WHO International EMF Programme Advisory Committee.