About us
The Global Health Policy Unit (GHPU) is a unique, cross-disciplinary team of researchers and lecturers who are committed to addressing the major global health policy challenges facing countries of all income-levels.
Our world-leading research and expertise allows us to offer practical solutions for decision-makers at all levels of governance, and collaborate with international actors such as the World Bank, World Health Organization, governments and other research and advocacy organisations globally.
Our research is focused on four key areas of contemporary global health debates:
- Universal Health Coverage;
- Commercial Determinants of Health;
- Global Governance of Health;
- Knowledge, Evidence, and Policy
GHPU is also a leader in global health and health policy education and training, providing a range of on-campus and online programmes that attract the highest calibre of students from every region of the world.
Our new online MSc in Global Health Policy offers the opportunity to study part-time, for those people who have a passion for global health but have commitments that preclude full-time study.
If you have any questions about our degree programmes, courses, research, or other activities, please get in touch with us. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, and to check out our blog.


About us

Sudeepa Abeysinghe
Director, Global Health Policy UnitSudeepa is Senior Lecturer, Global Health Policy. Her research focuses upon the relationship between knowledge and policy in the global management of risk.

Emily Adrion
Senior Lecturer, Global Health PolicyEmily's broad research interests include health care costs and utilisation, public and private health insurance markets, managed care, and health care financing.

Eleanor Brooks
Lecturer, Global Health PolicyEleanor's research focuses on the political determinants of health in the context of EU health governance. She has a particular interest in fiscal governance and regulatory reform frameworks.

Jeff Collin
Professor of Global Health PolicyJeff's research interests focus on health policy and global health governance, with a particular emphasis on the role of the commercial sector.

Mark Hellowell
Senior Lecturer, Global Health PolicyMark Hellowell is senior lecturer in Global Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on the financing and delivery of public health and healthcare.

Kathrin Lauber
Research FellowKathrin is Research Fellow on the Better Regulation for Better Health project. Her research focuses on the intersection between commercial interests and public health policy.

Nason Maani
Lecturer, Global Health PolicyNason Maani is lecturer in Global Health Policy at the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on the structural and corporate determinants of health.

Kaveri Qureshi
Senior Lecturer, Global Health EquityKaveri's research interests include health inequalities in the UK and Pakistan, with a focus on migration, 'race'/ethnicity, gender and debility.

Rob Ralston
Career Development FellowRob's research focuses on global health governance, commercial determinants of health, and public-private partnerships in food policy.

Amrit Virk
Lecturer, Health PolicyAmrit's research is focused on health in low- and middle-income countries, spanning work across Malaysia, India, Thailand and Sierra Leone. Prominent themes include universal health coverage, health care financing, the political economy of health reforms and health systems strengthening.

Tracey Wagner-Rizvi
Research FellowTracey is a Research Fellow in GHPU. Her research is focused on corporate actors in global health policy-making and wider issues of global social governance.
Honorary Staff

Colin Brown
Scottish Government
Katherine Brown
Chief Executive, Institute of Alcohol Studies
Katherine Smith
Professor of Global Health Policy
Anuj Kapilashrami
Honorary LecturerPhD Students

Khuloud Alsaba
PhD StudentPhD Title: Social Determinants of Health in Conflict and War: Militarization and Health in Syria

Megan Arthur
PhD StudentPhD title: Philanthropy and child undernutrition in India: Understanding governance processes

Majdi Ashour
PhD StudentPhD Title: Beyond Resilience in the Times of Despair: Changes in Out of Pocket Payments in the Gaza Strip

Rachel Barry
PhD StudentPhD Title: Understanding marijuana policy change in Uruguay: Towards policy coherence to regulate health-impacting commodities?

Taya Collyer
PhD StudentPhD Title: Disciplinary training and epistemological tension in health inequalities and disparities research

Diego Diaz Velasquez
PhD StudentPhD Title: Supporting healthcare providers operating in conflict settings: The case of Tumaco, Colombia

Katie Hirono
PhD StudentKatie's research focuses on health impact assessment (HIA), health equity, policymaking and community engagement, power, and the social determinants of health.

Blanca Kao
PhD StudentPhD Title: How, and to what extent, are health implications taken into account in the decision-making processes within the Scottish local government? A Multiple-Case Study of Scottish Local Authorities

Claire Leppold
PhD StudentPhD Title: Health Inequalities in Japan: Through the Lens of the Fukushima Disaster

Helen Patterson
PhD Student
Putri Viona Sari
PhD StudentPhD Title: Exploring the Policy Development Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Indonesia

Evan Shirley
PhD StudentPhD Title: A Decision Support System to guide decisions of public sector pharmaceutical supply chains in low-and-middle countries

Mirja Sjöblom
PhD StudentMirja Sjoblom is a senior economist with the World Bank’s Global Practice on Health, Nutrition and Population. Her PhD relates to the governance of primary care markets in Sweden.