Anna Palagyi

Associate Professor Anna Palagyi is a health systems scientist at the George Institute for Global Health, a research organization affiliated with UNSW Sydney. She serves as Program Lead for Ageing and Health Systems, focusing on strengthening primary health care services in resource-constrained settings across the Asia-Pacific region.

• Senior Research Fellow, George Institute for Global Health (current)
• Program Lead, Ageing and Health Systems (current)

Educational Background

• PhD
• Master of Public Health (MPH)
• Bachelor of Optometry (Honors)

Research Interests
Anna specializes in co-design methodology and implementation studies with mixed-methods evaluations. Her work emphasizes:

• Strengthening health systems in Pacific and Southeast Asian countries
• Developing health system responses to healthy ageing
• Non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention and management
• Public health policy and evidence-informed practice
• Primary health care innovation in Indonesia and other low/middle-income countries

Scientific Awards & Grants

• Australian Government Regional Health Partnership: RESist-NCD (Principal Investigator, 2024-2028)
• NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (CIA, 2019-2022)
• WHO Western Pacific Regional Office project (PI, 2022)

Supervision & Engagement
Currently supervising three PhD/Major Research Projects in health systems and NCD management. Her public engagement includes media contributions to outlets like Croakey Health Media, The Age, and The Sydney Morning Herald, addressing topics such as cataract waitlists, falls risk, and universal health coverage.