Professor Neal is a UK-trained physician who has 25 years’ experience in clinical, epidemiological, and public health research with a focus on heart disease, stroke and diabetes. 

He has a longstanding interest in high blood pressure and diabetes and the potential for both clinical interventions and changes in the food supply to deliver health gains.  His work has been characterised by its focus on collaboration, quantitation, translation and impact.  

He holds professorial appointments at UNSW Sydney, Imperial College London, and an honorary appointment at the University of Sydney.  He has published some 450 scientific papers and since 2016 has been identified by Thomson Reuters as one of ‘The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds’ - an acknowledgement bestowed on just a few thousand researchers across all disciplines worldwide.  

He has deep expertise in the conduct of large-scale clinical trials addressing cardiovascular disease but has also done a significant body of work addressing food policy issues related to sugars, fats, portion size and food labelling.

Deepika comes from an interdisciplinary background with science, management and policy degrees and holds a PhD in Public Health Policy from IIM Ahmedabad, India. Deepika holds widespread experience in consulting with various national and international development sector organisations namely UNICEF, UHC2030, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp and Oxford Policy Management, India. Her work over the past decade has been focused on the intersection of health and gender, including healthcare for the frontline workforce, SRHR with a specific focus on adolescents and sustainable menstruation, mental health, women leadership and unpacking laws and regulations from the citizen's rights perspective.

Deepika writes on public health issues and her experiences as an emerging global health researcher, questioning the regressive social norms and systems, particularly for women, demanding for equitable and responsive health and social policies in India. Deepika is an Emerging Voice for Global Health (EV4GH 2016), co-founder and current chair of the Women in Global Health India Chapter and is a strong advocate of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in all spaces. Some of her short pieces can be accessed here, and here. Her recent podcast with Arthan Careers in Conversations of Change, where she reflects on her journey and women’s leadership in global health can be watched here.

At the George Institute, Deepika is currently working with the Global Thought Leadership Program, supporting with strategic thinking towards strengthening the visibility of The George Institute’s work regionally and globally. She is also managing Ubuntu Initiative focused on building equitable partnerships in Africa, focused on research, capacity strengthening, and impact and engagement.

Emma Feeny is Director of Impact & Engagement at The George Institute, where she leads a global programme of activities including advocacy, policy engagement, community engagement and thought leadership, to mobilise knowledge and help increase the impact of the institute’s health and medical research. 

Emma has over 20 years’ experience of driving impact in the research, international development and humanitarian sectors, and of building partnerships with government, multilateral, civil society, private sector and academic stakeholders globally. Before joining The George Institute, she worked as a global policy and advocacy advisor at Oxfam, and previously held policy and communications roles with organisations including the UN World Food Programme and the University of Oxford. 

A former journalist with organisations including Reuters and the Financial Times, Emma holds a Masters degree in the Social Anthropology of Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Associate Professor Naomi Hammond is the Critical Care Program Head at The George Institute for Global Health. She also works part-time as the Intensive Care Clinical Research Manager at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Naomi holds several other appointments including NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow; Conjoint Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales; an Editorial Board Member for Australian Critical Care Journal; Chair of the Australian Critical Care Nurses Research Advisory Panel; and Senior Research Fellow with the Australian Sepsis Network.

Naomi is a clinical nurse researcher and has led a program of sepsis research through international collaborations including facilitating 4 clinical trials in COVID-19 in India.  She leads the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Point Prevalence program. She has also undertaken international point prevalence studies including a large epidemiological study of patients with sepsis in Indian ICUs. Called the SIPS (Sepsis in India Prevalence) study, it has provided vital insights into changing epidemiology with different sepsis definitions, bacteriology, and antimicrobial resistance patterns.

Naomi’s main research interests include fluid resuscitation, sepsis, fever management, knowledge translation and implementation research, health economics, and long-term outcomes post-critical illness. Naomi has experience supervising and mentoring medical trainees, nursing staff, PhD, Masters and medical students in both the clinical and academic environment.

Additional to Naomi’s academic portfolio, she also has extensive clinical trials operational management experience including finance, regulatory processes, personnel, project and program management in a clinical and NGO environment.