Dr Laura Downey

Dr Laura Downey is a senior research fellow at the George Institute for Global health, based in the Sydney office, and a teaching fellow in health economics at the School of Public Health at Imperial College London. Laura works within the Centre for Health Systems Science, where 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 vulnerable populations.

Previously, Laura was a technical advisor in global health at the International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI), where she worked 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), University College London (UCL), and the University of New South Wales, Australia.

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 in partnership with global institutions such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the World Bank.