Why women must lead climate and health solutions as we head towards COP31
Changemakers LIVE highlights the next generation shaping the future of health
Associate Professor Mei Ling Yap
Associate Professor Mei Ling is a clinician researcher and the Head of the Cancer Program at the George Institute for Global Health. She is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (2023-2027) and was the 2024 recipient of the NSW Premier's Outstanding Cancer Research Award for "Improving Equitable Outcomes". She is a Conjoint Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney and Western Sydney University as well as lead of the Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes, Research and Evaluation (CCORE), the Ingham Institute for Medical Research.
A/Prof Yap completed her clinical training in Australia, Singapore and Canada and is a Staff Specialist Radiation Oncologist based at South Western Sydney Local Health District.
A/Prof Yap leads projects supporting cancer services capacity building in low-and middle-income countries in the Asia-Pacific as co-chair of the Asia-Pacific Radiation Oncology Special Interest Group of RANZCR. She serves on the Editorial Board of JCO Global Oncology.
Assoc. Prof Julieann Coombes
Dr Julieann Coombes identifies as a Gumbaynggir woman and highly skilled career professional with over 27 years nursing experience working in Aboriginal Community Health. She now focuses on improving health inequalities and outcomes for First Nations people and communities through research using Indigenous Knowledges (knowing, being and doing) and methodologies which empowers First Nations people’s voices in all her work. She has extensive experience in social and cultural determinants of health research, Indigenous methodologies and applies decolonising methods to all her research projects. Julieann has a commitment to ensure that all research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is conducted in an ethical correct way and research integrity should be underpinned by equity, transparency, and self-determination.
Her work in Indigenous research methods, public health knowledge and qualitative research, work which is published, has been cited in policy, media, and academic publications.
Julieann received her PhD at University of Technology, Sydney and is a Senior Research Fellow for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program at The George Institute for Global Health.
Dr Anthony Paulo Sunjaya
Anthony Sunjaya is a medical doctor from Indonesia and Honorary Fellow at the Respiratory and Health Systems Division, The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Public Health, Imperial College London and a Visiting Researcher at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals.
His research focuses on cardiorespiratory diseases, complex chronic diseases, primary care, and digital health especially the development, validation and translation of decision support systems, AI, and virtual care. He has a special interest in supporting universal health coverage, improving care, especially in low-resource settings and primary care through the use of innovative evidence-based solutions.
He is Chief Investigator of the Breathlessness Rapid Evaluation and THErapy (BREATHE) trial funded by the Australian Government Medical Research Future Fund to optimise the assessment and management of chronic breathlessness in primary care through implementation of a clinical decision support system for breathlessness across 40 GP practices in Australia building upon work during his PhD which was supported by the UNSW Scientia PhD program.
He is currently Chair, Primary Care SIG, Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ); Chair, Membership Committee, Society of Medical Decision Making (SMDM); Vice-Chair of the Digital Transformation Leadership working group in the International Society for Telemedicine and e-Health (ISfTeH), and Editorial Advisory Board member of the Annals of Family Medicine. He is also an active social entrepreneur and co-founder of BantingMed, a diabetes digital health startup.
He was previously President of Postgraduate Council UNSW and ASEAN Society UNSW, a delegate to the 2023 Group of 7 Youth Summit in Japan and has contributed to reports for the World Health Organization and Asthma Australia.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s Gender Pay Gap Report
CREST - First Nations Research and Consulting
中国临床研究受试者重要须知 (Important notice for research study participants in China)
Sudha Kallakuri
After completion of her Masters, Sudha started her career in clinical research at Clinigene International Ltd, sister concerns of Biocon. She has worked in clinical research industry for the past five and a half years and was part of George Clinical for nearly four years.
Sudha has had experience in working on academic trials and seeks to pursue higher education and training in public health research, especially in the areas of non-communicable diseases including mental health and injuries.
She is currently involved in a study where mobile-based technology is being used to provide basic mental health care to scheduled tribe villages in rural Andhra Pradesh.
Professor Pallab K. Maulik
Pallab leads Research department at The George Institute for Global Health, India. He trained as a psychiatrist at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 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 pursued his Masters and Doctoral training, respectively.
Professor 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. He has worked for more than 25 years in global mental health and has research network across multiple countries and institutions where he is affiliated with and with whom he collaborates on many projects.
His particular research interests include social determinants of health, especially mental health services, mental disorders, international mental health, and intellectual disability. He is a Principal Investigator or co-investigator on many large mental health projects in India and abroad. He primarily focuses on delivering affordable and accessible mental health care for disadvantaged and marginalized communities in India, while using technology-enabled solutions to enable the health system to function more efficiently. He also leads a significant programme of work on stigma related to mental health. He was an Intermediate Career Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Fellow from 2014-19 and currently is a Senior Fellow of the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance.
Professor Maree Hackett
Maree is responsible for designing, leading, and delivering a distinctive and vibrant postgraduate, postdoctoral and future leader research experience at The George. Maree and her team provide management and oversight of ‘higher degree by research’ candidates, their supervisors, visiting fellows and work with the training team to co-ordinate postgraduate research training.
Maree also leads a program of research focusing on developing simple, cost-effective strategies to prevent depression and significantly improve the outcome for people with chronic disease.
Maree works one day per week as a Professor of Epidemiology in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at The University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom.