Professor Julie Balen

I have over two decades of experience as a researcher, educator, and supervisor, having led Global Health research, teaching, and consultancy teams and projects in several different settings and contexts. I am also a Visiting Professor at Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences in Nepal, and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. I specialise in qualitative and mixed methods research on health systems strengthening and the inclusion and integration of neglected or emerging areas into health systems. My work often takes interdisciplinary, comparative, and participatory approaches and is always conducted in close collaboration with research partners and stakeholders – many of whom I have worked with for decades. At CCCU, I am the REF Unit of Assessment 3 Lead, with my role being strategic as well as practical. With my colleagues, I aim to build research capacity in our Unit, to drive our REF2029 contributions and to further improve our overall excellence in research.