Archives: People
Ajay Mahal
Ajay Mahal is a Professor of Health Economics and Global Health Systems Research at the Nossal Institute for Global Health in the University of Melbourne and Professor at NCAER. From 2010 until 2015, he was the Alan and Elizabeth Finkel Chair of Global Health and Professor at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University.
Previously, he was an Associate Professor of International Health Economics in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard School of Public Health. Prior to his appointment at Harvard, Dr Mahal was the Principal Economist (Human Development) at the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi. His recent research has focused on evaluation of health system interventions.
Dr Mahal holds degrees from Columbia University (Ph. D in Economics, 1995) and the University of Delhi (M.A. (Economics), 1986; B.A. (Economics), 1984).
Barbara McPake
Barbara McPake is Professor, Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne and Professor at NCAER. Prior to this, she was Director of the Nossal Institute (2014-23) and the Institute for International Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh (2005-2014); Programme Director, Health Systems Development Knowledge Programme (2001-6) and Head of Health Policy Unit (2001-4) at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has extensive international experience in health systems research and policy analysis and advice to UN agencies and low-and-middle income country governments.
Her research focuses on the application of economic theories and methods to the understanding of issues in health system strengthening in low and middle-income countries.
She has a PhD in Health Economics from the University of Wales, College of Medicine.
Madhura Chowdhuri
Madhura Chowdhuri is an Associate Fellow at NCAER. She has an academic and professional background in economics, health policy, and public sector evaluation. She holds a PhD in Economics from Jamia Millia Islamia, where her doctoral research examined the socio-economic determinants of women’s reproductive health in India. She also holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Kalyani, where she graduated as a gold medallist.
Madhura brings considerable expertise in quantitative research, supported by advanced proficiency in analytical tools such as Stata, SPSS, R, and EViews.
Prior to joining NCAER, Madhura was associated with several institutions including Grant Thornton (GT), The Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), and ICICI Bank. She has contributed to evidence-based research spanning sectors such as tourism, textiles, education, and healthcare, and multidisciplinary project environments.
Her research portfolio includes contributions to high-impact studies such as the ‘Heat Adaptation and Health Impact Assessment’ supported by the Wellcome Trust, and an analysis of health-seeking behaviour in India conducted in collaboration with the Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne. She has also worked on evaluations of national programmes in partnership with UNICEF (Anaemia Mukt Bharat Programme), and assessments of government initiatives such as the MyGov platform and block-level handloom cluster development schemes.
Her collaborative efforts with government ministries, international organisations, and development agencies have resulted in co-authored publications and evaluation reports, particularly addressing post-COVID challenges in health and education.