Professor Anushka Patel has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the George Institute for Global Health.
The Institute is internationally recognised as one of the world’s leading global health research institutes, and Professor Patel will bring a distinguished academic career and extensive senior leadership experience to the organisation when she steps into the role at the end of January 2023.
As a clinician scientist, Professor Patel was most recently Vice-Principal Director and Chief Scientist at The George Institute. She’s also an active cardiologist in Sydney and has held numerous senior academic and professional roles with government agencies, non-government organisations and multilateral organisations, in Australia and globally.
She undertook her medical training at the University of Queensland, with subsequent postgraduate research degrees from Harvard University and the University of Sydney.
Her personal research interests focus on developing innovative solutions for delivering affordable and effective cardiovascular care in the community and in acute care hospital settings.
“I very much look forward to the challenges ahead, ” says Professor Patel about her new appointment. “Building on the strengths of the organisation, our partnerships and our incredibly talented teams across the Institute and George Health.”
The Institute’s impact is expansive, with over 1,100 people across four regional offices and more than 245 active projects across 50 countries.
Chair of The George Institute’s Board of Directors David Armstrong says they’re looking forward to welcoming Professor Patel to lead the Institute “during this exciting new phase of organisational growth.”
“Anushka brings a wealth of experience and an inspiring vision to the Institute that will ensure it continues to deliver on its mission to improve the health of millions of people worldwide,” he says.
The Institute was co-founded by Professor Robyn Norton AO and Professor Stephen MacMahon AO in 1999 in Sydney to address the escalating global burden of non-communicable diseases and injury.
The two co-founders announced earlier this year that they’d step down in December 2022 to make way for new leadership and new ideas for the growth of the Institute.
Professor Patel says it’s “a great honour to follow in the footsteps of such visionary founders, who have presided over an organisation that has seen extraordinary growth and impact globally.”
“We are entering a period of heightened global uncertainty, with rapid social, environmental, economic, technological and geopolitical shifts that will inevitably influence the strategy of any ambitious organisation, particularly one focused on global health,” she says.
“This uncertainty also brings opportunities to further grow our impact.”