Anna is working as an Associate Project Manager working on the STARS (stroke) and STEPCARE (cardiac arrest) studies. Since joining The George Institute in 2019 she has worked as a Senior Clinical Research Associate on various studies, both in Critical Care as well as other medical fields.  Prior to her employment at The George Institute, Anna was a Clinical Trials and Research Coordinator for the Intensive Care Units at Western Health, Victoria.  Anna has also worked as a Clinical Research Associate for Orion Clinical Services (CRO) and as a Research Coordinator for the Gastroenterology Department at Box Hill Hospital.  She also has a Bachelor of Biomedical Science with Honors from the University of South Australia, a Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Science from La Trobe University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Business Administration from Swinburne University.

Karena Conroy leads the Consumer and Community Involvement Program at The George Institute for Global Health, having established this central support structure from the ground up. She is a health research facilitator and occasional researcher, with an educational background in the social sciences, psychology, and a PhD in Health.

Her work focuses on improving and increasing consumer and community involvement in health research across the Institute and the wider health and medical research sector. Karena brings together knowledge and experience from both health research and lived experience of health conditions, enabling her to bridge these perspectives effectively.

Karena is committed to involving community members in meaningful, impactful ways that align with best practice. She is passionate about improving population health and believes that working collaboratively with those affected by health research is key to achieving better outcomes.