Laura Emily Downey

Dr Laura Downey is an Associate Professor in health systems science (Health policy and economics) at the George Institute for Global health, UNSW, based in Sydney, Australia, and an advanced research fellow in global health at the School of Public Health at Imperial College London. Her research is focused broadly on evaluating health system performance in relation to Universal Health Coverage goals, and developing innovative solutions to support equitable access to high quality, affordable care for the world’s most at-risk populations.

Dr Downey has worked for over a decade with governments in low and middle income countries (LMICs) to support improvements in evidence-based health policy in relation to value for money of healthcare investment and quality of care delivery. She has held research and policy positions at the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) UK, University College London (UCL) UK, and the international Decision Support Initiative (iDSI). She has been closely involved in numerous health system reforms in India between 2015 and 2020, and remains a health policy mentor for the Indian Council of Medical Research. She has worked with country partners across Asia, Africa, and Europe and continues to be an active advisor to global institutions such as the World Health Organisation (WHO).