Julie Balen

Professor Julie Balen

Professor of Health Systems and Global Change & Research Supervisor

School of Allied and Public Health Professions

Julie is a Professor of Health Systems and Global Change and the REF Unit of Assessment 3 (UoA3) Lead.

I am an established academic and research leader with over 20 years of experience in the field of global public health. My research is centred on strengthening health systems and improving health outcomes in selected resource-limited settings, through the design, integration and scale-up of new policies, system-wide changes, and innovations in health services and health technologies.

In my research, I adopt an interdisciplinary approach, leveraging mixed-methods and participatory approaches to ensure that solutions are evidence-based, contextually relevant and sustainable. A key priority of my work is advancing health equity and inclusion, whereby health service provision is accessible to all, regardless of socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, ability or geographic location.

I have worked in and with many Higher Education Institutions across Europe, Australia, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and I have long standing partnerships with teams in Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Nigeria, Ghana and The Gambia.

At CCCU, I lead several research projects, with funding from the NIHR, WHO and other funders. I am also responsible for building research capacity and ensuring a successful submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) Unit of Assessment 3 (UoA3). I line manage research and academic support staff, supervise PhD students and teach on the Global Public Health programme.

Research interests & Supervison

Do you want to do a research degree? Are you interested in Medicine, Health and Social Care or related topics? Then I would be pleased to hear from you.
  • A Simplified screen-and-Treat-all prOphylaxis approach in Pregnant women to stop Hepatitis B Virus mother-to-child transmission in Malawi and The Gambia (STOP-HBV). Researcher(s): Professor Julie Balen. [Project]
  • Addressing healthcare inequalities: Analysing maternal and reproductive health services and utilisation in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. Researcher(s): Mr Obasanjo Bolarinwa. Supervisor(s): Professor Julie Balen, Dr Nicole Holt, Professor Eleni Hatzidimitriadou. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Consortium for the assessment and reporting of infertility policies and services in the 11 countries of the WHO South East Asia Region. Researcher(s): Professor Julie Balen. [Project]
  • Health systems, policy and politics in federal Nepal: a Participatory Dissemination Programme. Researcher(s): Professor Julie Balen. [Project]
  • Men and infertility: willingness to use a smartphone-enabled device for self-testing of semen in The Gambia and Ghana (STeMoSA). Researcher(s): Ms Fatou Baldeh. Supervisor(s): Dr Anna Afferri, Professor Julie Balen. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • NIHR Global Health Research Group on Digital Diagnostics for African Health Systems. Researcher(s): Professor Julie Balen. [Project]
  • Political economy of privatization of healthcare systems and its impact in quality of healthcare: Experience from South Asia. Researcher(s): Mr Geha Khanal. Supervisor(s): Dr Cat Jones, Professor Julie Balen. [Postgraduate Research Project]
  • Provision and accessibility to primary care services for immigrants experiencing homelessness in England: a qualitative exploratory study.. Researcher(s): Miss Carol Namata. Supervisor(s): Professor Eleni Hatzidimitriadou, Professor Chris Burton. [Postgraduate Research Project]

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 LSHTM. I sit on various funding panels, including the NIHR Health Policy and Systems Panel and on Editorial Review Boards for journals, including PLOS Global Public Health and BMC Health Services Research. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).