Mahima Kalla

Dr Mahima Kalla is a human wellbeing researcher, exploring the psychosocial and ecological wellbeing of individuals and societies. She employs a variety of traditional and non-traditional qualitative methodologies, including arts-based research, poetic representation, photo elicitation, and clinical simulation. An interdisciplinary scholar, she works at the intersection of the humanities, social sciences, technology, and the arts, with research that is largely translational and geared towards real-world public impact.

She is a digital health equity and co-design specialist within The University of Melbourne's digital health studio, The Validitron, and leads an international research hub on equity and inclusion in digital health—a trilateral partnership between the Universities of Melbourne (Australia), Manchester (UK), and Toronto (Canada). Her flagship digital health equity workshop curriculum has been delivered internationally, including in Australia, the UK (University of Oxford), and India (Apollo Hospitals, the country’s largest private hospital network).

In 2025, Dr Kalla was invited to join an 8-person Australian delegation to India as part of a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) program to develop bilateral policy recommendations on making the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare more inclusive and equitable. Beyond academia, her interests include writing for children, advancing youth wellbeing, and supporting youth-led environmental and social leadership programs.