Victoria Loblay

Dr Victoria Loblay is a Research Fellow at the Brain and Mind Centre within the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health. She specializes in applied public health research, focusing on the role of technologies like simulation models and mHealth systems in health policy decision-making and intervention implementation. Her interdisciplinary work draws on anthropology, science and technology studies, and complexity science, emphasizing collaborative ethnographic methods.

Dr Loblay holds a PhD in Anthropology from Macquarie University and an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. Her research explores practice-based knowledge in health systems, particularly how local adaptations and tacit knowledge can improve policy and program fidelity. She is currently evaluating participatory systems modelling for youth mental health and developing citizen ethnography approaches to empower participants in research.

Her research interests include health policy implementation tensions (e.g., top-down vs. bottom-up design), the role of evidence and resources in intervention fidelity, and equity-focused methodologies. She collaborates with the Charles Perkins Centre, Menzies Centre for Health Policy, and global initiatives in low- and middle-income countries.

Key projects include:

• Cross-cultural design of parenting apps for early childhood development
• Evaluating digital health equity in Indonesia and Afghanistan
• Systems modelling for youth mental health reform in Australia

Dr Loblay's recent publications (2022–2025) emphasize themes like mHealth co-design barriers, pandemic-driven health system adaptation, and participatory frameworks for Indigenous health evaluation. She advises two research students: Liz Norsa (food support in Sydney) and Elena Petrou (behavioral strategies in early childhood education).