Institute Directors
Stephen is one of the founders of The George Institute for Global Health and an architect of its global expansion. He currently holds positions as Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health (worldwide) and Executive Director of the George Centre for Healthcare Innovation at the University of Oxford (UK). He also holds professorial appointments in medicine at both the University of Sydney (Australia) and the University of Oxford (UK), where he is a James Martin Professorial Fellow.
Stephen is an international authority on the causes, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and has a special interest is the management of chronic and complex conditions in resource-poor settings, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to his Institute and university appointments, Stephen holds several external appointments, including those as Chair of the International Scientific Board of the UK BioBank. He is also Executive Chair of George Clinical Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of The George Institute. He sits on the Boards of several other not-for-profit organisations, including the Oxford Health Alliance.
Stephen has published more than 300 scientific papers and delivered more than 200 invited lectures. For his work in the field of cardiovascular disease, he has received numerous awards, fellowships and honours from various governments, universities and learned societies.
Robyn is Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health, and Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney Medical School (Australia). She is also Executive Director of the George Centre for Healthcare Innovation at the University of Oxford (UK), and Professor of Global Health and James Martin Professorial Fellow at the University of Oxford (UK). Together with Stephen MacMahon, Robyn founded The George Institute for Global Health.
Robyn holds an Honorary Professorship at Peking University Health Science Center (China), and is an Honorary Consultant Epidemiologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney (Australia). She is an international authority on the causes and prevention of injuries, particularly road traffic injuries.
Robyn was the inaugural Chair and is now Chair Emeritus of the Road Traffic Injuries Research Network, a global network, supported by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, aimed at increasing research and research capacity to address the current and growing burden of road traffic injuries in low and middle-income countries.
Anushka is a Professor of Medicine at The University of Sydney and a cardiologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia. She undertook her medical training at the University of Queensland, with subsequent postgraduate research degrees from Harvard University and the University of Sydney.
As the Chief Scientist of the George Institute for Global Health, she has a key role in developing and supporting global strategic initiatives across the organisation. Her personal research interests focus on developing innovative solutions for delivering affordable and effective cardiovascular care in the community and in acute care hospital settings.
Anushka currently leads research projects relating to these interests in Australia, China and India. She is supported by a Senior Research Fellowship from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Yangfeng is the Executive Director of the Peking University Clinical Research Institute and Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Peking University School of Public Health.
Yangfeng is a leading authority on cardiovascular disease in China and has previously held senior positions at the Cardiovascular Institute, Fu Wai Hospital, and the WHO Collaboration Center in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Control and Research in Beijing.
武教授同时兼任北京大学临床研究所常务副所长及北京大学公共卫生学院流行病与统计学部流行病学教授。武教授是中国心血管疾病研究的主要权威人士。
此前他曾担任阜外医院心血管研究所和世界卫生组织北京心血管疾病防控与研究合作中心的重要职务
Professor Vivekanand Jha is the Executive Director, The George Institute for Global Health, India, and James Martin Fellow at The Geroge Institute for Global health at the University of Oxford.
Prior to joining The George Institute, he was Professor of Nephrology and Head, Department of Translational Regenerative Medicine and Officer-In-Charge, Medical Education and Research Cell at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India.Vivek serves on the international advisory boards of several organisations, including membership of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation, and the executive committee of the International Society of Nephrology.
He is a councillor of the International Society of Nephrology, a member of the education committees for the International Transplantation Society and International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis. He is a physician with a specialisation in the area of kidney diseases and he focuses on emerging public health threats globally and in India. He is particularly interested in using multi-disciplinary approaches and innovation to address the major challenge posed to humanity by non-communicable diseases.
Vlado Perkovic is Executive Director of The George Institute, Australia and George Clinical, and a Professor of Medicine at The University of Sydney. He is a Staff Specialist in Nephrology at the Royal North Shore Hospital and has led the development of George Clinical, the global clinical trials arm of The George Institute.
His research focus is in clinical trials and epidemiology, in particular in understanding both the cardiovascular risk associated with kidney disease and the impact of interventions that might mitigate this risk. He has been involved in developing Australian and global guidelines in kidney disease, cardiovascular risk assessment and blood pressure management. Vlado holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Melbourne and completed his undergraduate training at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.
He is a member of the National Health and Medical Research Council Academy; is Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Australasian Kidney Trials Network; and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and of the American Society of Nephrology.
Anthony Rodgers is a Professor of Global Health at The George Institute. After graduating in medicine in the United Kingdom he trained in epidemiology and public health in New Zealand. He was the Principal Author of the 2002 World Health Report, the main annual publication for WHO.
Since 2003 he has led a public-private partnership developing an affordable four-in-one cardiovascular combination pill ('polypill'), with a clinical trial program in economically developed and developing countries. His current work aims to foster similar developments designed to be 'fit for purpose' in low income settings.
John Chalmers AC FAA has an outstanding record in hypertension research, both fundamental and clinical. His groundbreaking research on the role of the brain in the development of hypertension led to his election to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science and helped establish Flinders University as a leading international centre in hypertension and neuroscience research.
His studies on the treatment of high blood pressure for the prevention of heart attack and stroke has changed the way patients are treated throughout the world. His work has been recognised through many awards including the Wellcome Medal, the RT Hall Prize of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, and the Volhard Medal of the International Society of Hypertension.
Professor Chalmers' contribution to medical science has been acknowledged through the award of many Honorary Doctoral degrees and extensive appointments on national and international boards and advisory committees. He was appointed a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) in 1991 and awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003 in recognition of services to medical science and to Australian society.
John Chalmers remains an active researcher at The George Institute Australia, where he holds the title of Senior Director. He is a principal investigator on may research grants and steering committees for major studies, mentors young clinical researchers from around the world, and continues to publish and lecture prolifically.
Craig Anderson is Professor of Stroke Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience in the Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and the Institute of Neurosciences of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Having led several major international stroke studies, Craig is widely acknowledged as a leader in his field.
He was recently awarded the Royal Prince Alfred Research Medal for Excellence in Research. Craig is a member of several specialist societies, an Editor for the Cochrane Stroke Group, and a former President of the Stroke Society of Australasia. He has published widely on the clinical and epidemiological aspects of stroke, cardiovascular disease and aged care. He is on the Steering Committee for several large-scale research projects.
Bruce Neal is a Senior Director at The George Institute for Global Health, Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney and Chair of the Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health.
Bruce completed his medical training at Bristol University in the UK in 1990 and spent four years in clinical posts. Prior to taking up his position at the Institute in 1999, he worked as an epidemiologist at the Clinical Trials Research Unit in Auckland, New Zealand, where he completed his PhD in Medicine.
Bruce leads a program of vascular research at the Institute and is supported in his work by the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council through Program Grant and Fellowship funding. Bruce has a longstanding interest in the environmental determinants of high blood pressure and the potential for changes in the food supply to deliver health gains.
Martin is the Director of the Renal and Metabolic Division in the George Institute for Global Health. He is also a renal physician at Concord Repatriation and General Hospital, where he heads the Renal Department, and is also Chair of the KHA-CARI Guidelines Steering Committee, the group that leads renal guideline development in Australia and New Zealand.
Martin was an Australian Harkness Fellow in 2009-2010, researching the public reporting of hospital outcomes at Yale University. His research interests include acute kidney injury, extending follow up of large scale clinical trials, measurement of health systems and the means of applying research evidence into practice.
Professor Rebecca Ivers is the Director of the Injury Division at The George Institute. She is an injury epidemiologist who holds a Masters degree in Public Health and PhD in injury epidemiology from the University of Sydney. She has an appointment as Professor at the University of Sydney, and has published widely in the peer reviewed literature in the fields of road traffic injury and falls prevention.
Rebecca has research interests that span a broad range of topics, including novice drivers, motorcycle helmets in Asia and heavy vehicle research. She is passionate about the need to decrease road injury in vulnerable road users in the low and middle income countries of the region and is actively engaged in research with this aim. She is particularly interested in injury prevention among Indigenous communities.
Rebecca has written several book chapters on road injury for international audiences, including manuals for the World Health Organization. She leads a strong team of researchers working on road injury studies in Australia, India, China and Vietnam.
Laurent has a master degree in Statistics and Computer Science from the University of South-Brittany (France) and an advanced degree in Public Health and Biostatistics from the University of Paris V.
He is an accredited statistician by the Statistical Society of Australia. Prior to joining the George Institute in 2006, Laurent worked at the School of Public Health of the University of Nancy I (France) and at Statistics Collaborative Inc. (USA), a contract research organisation specialised in the design and analysis of biomedical studies.
Over the last twelve years, Laurent has been responsible for the design, analysis and reporting of numerous medical studies ranging from health surveys and epidemiological studies to multinational Phase III/IV trials in oncology, critical care and cardiovascular disease.
Graham Hillis is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Medicine University of Sydney and a Consultant Cardiologist with clinical appointments at Concord Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (honorary), Strathfield Private Hospital and Central Sydney Cardiology. His current post is part funded by a Life Sciences Research Award from the New South Wales Office for Science and Medical Research.
His clinical and research interests include the echocardiography, the acute coronary syndromes, cardiac biomarkers and the prediction and management of perioperative cardiovascular complications in patients undergoing cardiac and major non-cardiac surgery.
Chris is a Professor in the Sydney Medical School. He also holds a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Senior Research Fellowship. Chris leads a program of research focusing on the management of musculoskeletal conditions in primary care and community settings.
This research is characterised by innovation, an interdisciplinary approach and an emphasis on simple treatments delivered well. Particularly committed to knowledge translation and health literacy, Chris has worked with local and international colleagues to develop information technologies that deliver the best research evidence to clinicians and health consumers.
John Myburgh is Director of the Division of Critical Care and Trauma at The George Institute. He is a Professor of Medicine at the University of New South Wales and an Honorary Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Monash University and Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney.
He is lead clinician for research and senior consultant physician in the Department of Intensive Care Medicine at The St George Hospital, Sydney. John has extensive research experience in neurophysiology, catecholamine pharmacology, aspects of traumatic brain injury and intensive care medicine. His current interests are large-scale, multi-centred clinical trials in critical care, both within Australasia and internationally.
Within the international context, John plans to explore and develop epidemiological and interventional initiatives in critical care and trauma in developing countries directed at improving patient outcomes.
Peter Dolnik is the Director of Research Services at The George Institute. His career has spanned both the academic and research management sectors. For a number of years, he had taught philosophy at various universities in Sydney and since 2000 he has worked in the area of research management at senior levels.
Key responsibilities associated with his latter role have included research-related compliance work, development of policies on research management as well as pre-award and post-award coordination of research funding.
Lijing is a cardiovascular epidemiologist with a background in demography and health economics. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, and the Health Economics and Management Institute, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University, Beijing.
Lijing has worked extensively in the areas of chronic disease prevention and control, economic evaluations in health care, and integrated health management. She is also the principal investigator or co-investigator on several research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, USA, the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China, and the Ford Foundation.
阎教授是心血管流行病专家。她拥有人口统计和卫生经济学背景。她同时还是西北大学范伯格医学院预防医学系和北京大学光华管理学院卫生经济与管理研究所的兼职副教授。阎教授在慢性病预防，卫生经济学评价和综合医疗管理领域有广泛的工作经验。
她同时还以主要研究者或协作研究者的身份参与多个由美国国立卫生研究院，中国国家自然科学基金会及福特基金会资助的研究。
Pallab K. Maulik joined The George Institute, India as the Head of Research and Development in early 2010. Dr. Maulik brings a wealth of experience to the Institute, in particular expertise in mental health.
Dr. Maulik has worked with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva on Project Atlas and other mental health programs, and clinically as a psychiatrist in India and Australia. After training as a psychiatrist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Dr. Maulik received training in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as well as Johns Hopkins School of Public Health where he studied his Masters and Doctoral training.
His particular research interests include social determinants of health, especially mental health services, mental disorders, international mental health, and intellectual disability.
Vinod a medical graduate from Karnataka University, India with over 8 years of Clinical Research industry experience joined The George Institute as Head-Clinical Research in 2009.
Prior to joining The George Institute, India, he has worked as Qualified Person Pharmacovigilance (QPPV), Medical Writer and Managerial roles in the Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research Industry. His clinical trial exposure is across various therapeutic areas and in different service and business environments.
A. Sunder Rajan joined The George Institute, India as Head of Infrastructure and Resources in October 2007. Graduate of JNU, New Delhi and National Defence Academy, Pune, he has completed many professional army courses in Army War College, Mhow, Military Intelligence School, Pune, Artillery School Deolali and College of Airwarfare Secunderabad.
Prior to joining The George Institute, India, he was in the National Cadets Corps as a Group Commander in Nizamabad A.P. While in the NCC he was involved in directing the AIDS awareness and pulse polio immunization programmes in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh states.