Meet the Speakers
26.10.2026
Gender Power and Health Equity: Why Policy Must Address Structural Inequality
Prof. Anita Raj, PHD, MS, Tulane University, USA
Anita Raj, PhD, is Executive Director of the Newcomb Institute and the Nancy Reeves Dreux Endowed Chair and Professor of Public Health at Tulane University. A developmental psychologist by training, she is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Her work focuses on gender equity, women’s empowerment, and the translation of population-level research into policy and community impact. She has led numerous large-scale research initiatives addressing gender-based violence, reproductive health, and social determinants of health.
Among her contributions are the development of the EMERGE measurement repository and leadership of the Violence EXperiences (VEX) surveys in the United States. Her work bridges research, policy, and practice to advance gender equity in health.
Gender Inequalities in Global Health and What They Mean for Policy
Prof. Dr. Sarah Hawkes, Global 50/50, UK
Sarah Hawkes is a global health academic and advocate working at the intersection of research, policy, and social justice. She is Professor of Global Population Health at Monash University Malaysia, where she is involved in establishing and shaping a new department in this field.
With multidisciplinary training in sociology, medicine, and epidemiology, her research focuses on gender, health inequalities, and the social determinants of health. She has held roles with organizations including WHO, the Population Council in India, icddr,b in Bangladesh, and University College London.
She is co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health and co-founder and co-CEO of Global 50/50, a global initiative promoting accountability and action for gender equality in health and governance.
Aligning Research Efforts with the Global Burden of Disease in Women and Men
Prof. Dr. Marc Lerchenmüller, University of Mannheim. Germany
Marc Lerchenmüller is Professor of Technological Innovation and Management Science at the University of Mannheim and the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW).
Trained in economics and public health at institutions including Imperial College London, Oxford, Yale, and LSHTM, his research focuses on how incentives shape scientific discovery and translation.
He examines gender disparities and resource allocation in science and has co-founded successful ventures in gene therapy.