Alexandra Jones is a public health lawyer and researcher leading a program of work on regulatory strategies to promote healthier, more sustainable diets. Her work uses an innovative mix of law and science to generate evidence that supports policymakers to design and implement policies with maximum public health impact. She works closely with UN agencies, national and state governments, public health and consumer organizations, and academic collaborators to translate evidence into effective action.

Ali’s current research interests include food labelling, composition, pricing and marketing policies. She also supports the Institute’s growing work on the commercial determinants of health. Her PhD explored Australia’s Health Star Rating system and similar front-of-pack nutrition labels used worldwide. Its impact can be seen in important reforms to the Health Star Rating system, and in the terms of international food standards being developed in this area.

Ali has previously worked on global tobacco control, and in health and human rights. She holds a PhD in Medicine and Health from the University of Sydney, a Master of Laws in Global Health Law from Georgetown Law (Washington, D.C.), and a Bachelor of Arts/Law from the University of Sydney. Ali is currently supported by an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship.

Damian Maganja is a Research Fellow in the Food Policy Division. His work looks at policies and processes to improve the healthiness of food environments, with a focus on better regulation and governance of harmful products and industries.

Damian joined the academic sector after working in health policy and programs with various government and non-government organisations. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine) from the University of New South Wales and a Master of International Public Health and a Bachelor of Economics and Social Sciences (Political Economy), both from the University of Sydney.

Assistant Professor Shweta Gidwani (MBBS, MRCEM, FRCEM) is a practicing emergency medicine physician at Chelsea & Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK where she holds a substantive appointment since 2013, serving as the global emergency medicine and quality improvement lead there. For the last 10 yrs she has also held an adjunct Assistant Professor faculty position at Ronald Reagan Institute of Emergency Medicine at The George Washington University, USA and a core member of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Global Emergency Medicine committee.

Her work focuses on emergency care capacity building through innovative training models with a view to build provider capacity at scale and build health system and workforce resilience,  particularly in LMICs, She has over a decade of experience on the field through partnership projects in a number of countries including India, Uganda and Ghana. 

Her main interests include emergency medicine curriculum development, medical education, trauma care, wellbeing, HIV testing in non-traditional settings, patient safety, quality improvement and digital health. She is an advocate for the role of emergency medicine practitioners in improving health outcomes in countries where emergency medicine is a developing speciality.

She graduated from Seth G.S. Medical College, Mumbai, India in 2002. She completed her core training in Emergency Medicine at Manchester Royal Infirmary and St Helens' and Knowsley Trust, UK and then moved to London where she completed her Fellowship in Emergency Medicine with a focus on global health and patient safety.

The recent Imperial College and The George Institute, UK partnership, has given her the opportunity to bring her academic and field work in global emergency care closer to home and she is delighted to be joining the dynamic and inspiring injury prevention team at The George Institute as a Senior Fellow.

Maarinke is the Program Lead for the Global Thought Leadership Program, in the Impact and Engagement team. She is an innovation specialist, translating research insights for different audiences into a range of formats and complimenting advocacy efforts on preventable disease and injury. Maarinke is particularly interested in finding links between silos, working across specialisations, and connecting people and ideas, joining skills and expertise to deliver strong outcomes.

Maarinke joined the George Institute in 2018, establishing activities such as data visualisation, interactive stories and podcasts. Since then, Maarinke has further developed The Global Thought Leadership program, designing the Emerging Thought Leader Program - a 6 month capacity strengthening program to train and coach early-mid career researchers and subject matter experts- as well as the Distinguished Fellow Program, engaging and collaborating on thought leadership activities with a network of renowned experts around the globe.

Prior to working at The George Institute, Maarinke worked in other technical industries, including medicines education, insurance, finance and IT. Maarinke has a Masters in International Law and International Relations, Graduate Certificate in Health Policy and Health Communications, and a Bachelor of Business with double major in Marketing and Management.