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“Belle de Jour”, author of The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, turns out to be based at the University of Bristol.

In one of your early papers you established a possible link between thyroid cancer in women in Cumbria and fallout from Chernobyl.

The trends in thyroid carcinomas in young women in north-west England show a consistent rise since the late 1980s. But our research also shows an increase in areas that didn’t receive fallout from Chernobyl, so there may be other causes at work.

You’ve also looked at policy for assessment of risks from organophosphates.

There are pesticides that have been banned from indoor use in the US but are legal in the European Union which may cause developmental, emotional and possibly autistic spectrum disorders. We’re collating the evidence and consulting experts to put forward a case to policy-makers to implement a similar ban to the one in North America.

What do you say to the charge that you have glamorised prostitution?

Call girls existed long before I got into the game and details of what that life is like were well established before I started writing about it. Implying I single-handedly turned the business around is flattering, but doesn’t stand much scrutiny.

Do the dangers of prostitution outweigh the benefits of not being in debt?

The particular situation I was in was far less dangerous than streetwalking and paid sufficiently well that I didn’t have to do it for very long. Also I met fewer men than a streetwalker would in the same period and again that decreased the chances of a bad experience. I trusted my instincts and the agency was very good about vetting clients as well. Let’s be frank, postdocs are not well paid – being debt-free enabled me to continue to choose science jobs I love rather than changing career.

Would you support the legalisation of prostitution?

In the UK prostitution is legal – pimping, soliciting and brothels are not. This results in a huge safety gap between call girls and streetwalkers. Doesn’t it make sense for women at all price points in the sex business to have the same protection I did, and in doing so, possibly gain the leverage they need over traffickers and clients to protect their personal and sexual health?

How were you able to conceal your identity as Belle de Jour for so long?

My anonymity was maintained the old-fashioned way: a confusing paper trail. We set up a corporation with other people on the board. The papers didn’t find me because they assumed I would be a writer, not a small-time blogger.

Your colleagues have reportedly been very supportive, but do you worry that the publicity will hinder your career?

Yes. That was the main reason for my anonymity. If I just wanted to be a writer it probably would have been more profitable to come out sooner, but working in science is important to me.