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.

Associate Professor Cheryl Carcel is the Head of the Brain Health Program at The George Institute for Global Health. She also works part-time as a clinical neurologist. Cheryl is an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow, an Australian and New Zealand Stroke Organisation Emerging Stroke Clinician and Scientist and a World Heart Federation Emerging Leader in Stroke. Other appointments include editorial board member for Stroke journal, guest editor for Cerebrovascular Diseases journal and World Stroke Organization co-chair for the scientific statement on Sex Differences in Stroke. 

A/Prof Carcel’s research focuses on health equity, in particular working on sex and gender differences, women’s brain health and policies encouraging disaggregation of data by sex and gender. She has extensive experience and interest in clinical trials, stroke prevention and treatment, migraine and cognition as well as supervising and mentoring students and junior colleagues.

Bindu Patel is a Senior Research Fellow in the Health Systems Science division at the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, Australia, and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at University of New South Wales.

Bindu leads programs evaluating implementation of health innovations to improve non-communicable disease (NCD) outcomes that include team-based models of primary care, institutionalisation of multisectoral collaboration and evidence based, cost-effective NCD interventions (WHO PEN). The evidence generated will be used to inform decision makers on strategies for long term adoption and scale up. Bindu has an interest in multisectoral approach to implementation of health innovations that address combination of social, physical, and behavioural determinants of health.  Her ultimate aim is to improve population health outcomes by eliminating disparities through achieving equity, efficiency and effectiveness of services, interventions, governance and policies.

Bindu has over 20 years of experience in epidemiological, health systems and clinical research in primary health care settings worldwide. She has a unique combination of theoretical knowledge, quantitative and qualitative methodological skills, quality improvement and implementation science expertise, complemented with extensive practical experience implementing interventional studies particularly complex health information technology.

Bindu’s educational background include a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health from University of Sydney, a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Columbia University (NYC) and Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.  

Amanda Henry is Program Head, Women’s Health at The George Institute for Global Health and Professor of Obstetrics in the Discipline of Women’s Health, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine and Health. Her professional background is as a Clinical Academic and Obstetrician, with a clinical practice focussed on high-risk pregnancy at St George Hospital, Sydney.

Her research focus, including her current NSW Health Early-Mid Career Cardiovascular Fellowship, is on how pregnancy complications, particularly hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes, can affect women’s lifelong health.  She leads a program of work on early intervention and improving systems of care to advance long-term cardiovascular health outcomes for women after a hypertensive pregnancy. Amanda is also an active researcher and research supervisor in the areas of high-risk pregnancy and pregnancy/postpartum clinical trials, and teaches pregnancy care to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Amanda has a strong emphasis on collaborative research projects to drive improvements in Women’s Health, and in addition to her role with the George Institute, researches collaboratively with medical, midwifery and Allied Health colleagues, as well as consumer and community partners, both locally and nationally. She also promotes Women’s Health research translation into guidelines, policy and practice through her professional society roles, including as Councillor for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Society of Obstetric Medicine of Australia and New Zealand. 

With a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and MSc in Biostatistics, Jason received post-doctoral training in nutrition epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is a Professor and the Head of the Nutrition Science Program at the George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales. His research and teaching focuses on reducing diet-related diseases through implementing innovative ‘Food is Medicine’ interventions, modelling the impact of population-level food policies, and determining the role of dietary factors for cardiometabolic diseases prevention and treatment. Jason's research has been published in top medical and nutrition journals including Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, BMJ, Circulation, and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. He has over 150 publications and has received many highly competitive awards, fellowships and grants, with total research funding of more than $14million to date.