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.

Alexandra Jones is a public health lawyer and researcher leading a program of work on regulatory strategies to promote healthier, more sustainable diets. Her work uses an innovative mix of law and science to generate evidence that supports policymakers to design and implement policies with maximum public health impact. She works closely with UN agencies, national and state governments, public health and consumer organizations, and academic collaborators to translate evidence into effective action.

Ali’s current research interests include food labelling, composition, pricing and marketing policies. She also supports the Institute’s growing work on the commercial determinants of health. Her PhD explored Australia’s Health Star Rating system and similar front-of-pack nutrition labels used worldwide. Its impact can be seen in important reforms to the Health Star Rating system, and in the terms of international food standards being developed in this area.

Ali has previously worked on global tobacco control, and in health and human rights. She holds a PhD in Medicine and Health from the University of Sydney, a Master of Laws in Global Health Law from Georgetown Law (Washington, D.C.), and a Bachelor of Arts/Law from the University of Sydney. Ali is currently supported by an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship.

Georgia is a Senior Policy and Advocacy Advisor for the Impact and Engagement team at The George Institute, based in the Sydney office. Georgia supports the Institute’s advocacy and political engagement activities in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Her main programmes of activity include women’s health, preventive health, and improving health systems to achieve equity.

Georgia White is an experienced policy professional focused on global health both within government and the non-profit sector. Prior to joining The George Institute, she worked for several years at a global non-profit focused on HIV and TB in New York City. She has also worked as a senior policy adviser within the Victorian Government and in Cambodia as part of Australia’s official development assistance program. Georgia has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Technology, Sydney, and a Master in Health Policy from The University of Sydney. 

Abhinav Bassi is a physiotherapist trained in public health, currently working as a Senior Research Fellow and Operations Lead at the George Institute for Global Health, India. He has a wealth of experience in epidemiological research, advocacy, and civil society network coordination. At present, Abhinav is leading a team of researchers responsible for designing and conducting pragmatic academic trials specifically in the areas of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and COVID-19. His other work at the George Institute includes developing and testing mobile-based decision support systems to prevent, screen, treat, and manage non-communicable diseases.

Mobile health interventions, automation in project management, and interactive dashboard development are some of his key interest areas. 

Shani completed her bachelor’s in Medical Biotechnology and holds a Master’s degree in Public health from Amity University, India. In addition, Shani completed a course in Clinical Trial Fundamentals facilitated by Monash University, Australia and Project Management Fundamentals  by Australian Institute of Management.

Prior to joining George Institute, she worked as a Junior research fellow at the International Clinical Epidemiological Network (INCLEN) New Delhi on multiple epidemiological studies and was involved in project designing and database management. Presently, she is involved in the operations and management of academic randomised clinical trials like Long Covid ,PACE in COPD and works closely with the trial steering committees, regulatory authorities, ethics committees and clinical sites across India to conduct trials ethically and efficiently.

Daisy Coyle is a Research Fellow at The George Institute, Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and a Conjoint Lecturer at UNSW. She leads a program of work evaluating food policies to achieve healthier and more equitable diets. This research is supported by an NHMRC Emerging Leader Investigator Grant (2024-2028) and a Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2024-2025).

Daisy generates evidence to support the design and development of policies that can meaningfully improve public health and she works closely with NGOs, government, and public health and academic collaborators to translate this evidence into action. Her research interests span across ultra-processed foods, foods for early childhood, salt reduction and added sugars. She is also a media Dietitian and regularly provides expert commentary on a range of nutrition topics across radio, TV and print media nationally.

Daisy received her PhD from UNSW in 2021 for her work in evaluating efforts to improve the healthiness of the food supply in Australia, with a specific focus on food reformulation. Daisy also holds a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Newcastle (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Science (Nutrition and Metabolism & Physiology) from the University of Sydney.

Professor Simone Pettigrew is the Head of Food Policy. She has qualifications in Economics, Marketing, and Consumer Psychology. Her broad areas of expertise include behavioural psychology, health promotion, health policy, communications, social marketing, and intervention research.

Along with nutrition, her substantive areas of research include obesity, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, active transport, and healthy ageing. Simone sits on numerous advisory committees and regularly performs research consultancies for NGO and government entities. To date, she has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers and produced more than 160 technical reports for NGOs and government departments.

See Professor Pettigrew's full CV here.

Dijlah is the Impact and Engagement Support Officer for the global Impact and Engagement Team. She works actively across multiple programs and projects, supports events and the development of impact and engagement materials.