I am an emerging research leader with over 19 years of experience in health care as a cardio-respiratory physiotherapist, academic, applied research scientist and project manager. My PhD in Public Health comprised development, implementation and mixed-method evaluation of a global-first, self-management intervention for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in the context of multimorbidity in primary care. Relative to opportunity, I have authored peer-reviewed scientific journal publications, contributed to policy documents and a clinical practice guideline, presented at prestigious national and international conferences, given media interviews and invited presentations, and successfully attracted competitive research funding including NHMRC, MRFF and industry-funded grants. Till date, I have led several health research, policy, capacity-building and quality improvement projects to completion, and also contributed to 8 undergraduate and postgraduate public health courses at the UNSW Faculty of Medicine and Health.
I am skilled in clinical research, project management, stakeholder engagement, quantitative and qualitative research methods, systematic review of literature, co-design, clinical trials, conceptualising original research studies and quality improvement programs, human research ethics applications, program development for self-management of chronic disease, developing evidence-based implementation & evaluation toolkits, policy & program evaluation, and health information assessment. Through the course of my public health career, I have collaborated with consumers and a wide range of stakeholders from various country governments and health organisations such as GlaxoSmithKline Australia, NSW Health, Lung Foundation Australia, CareMonitor, AstraZeneca Australia, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Pacific Health Information Network and the World Health Organization. I am particularly passionate about initiatives on chronic disease that aim to improve health outcomes for patients, enhance health care delivery, and inform clinical practice and policy. My research interests are COPD, multimorbidity, self-management of chronic disease, digital health, clinical trials, implementation science, integrated care and primary health care.
I am a Senior Research Fellow at the UNSW School of Population Health, and also a Honorary Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University.
TRANSLATION OF MY RESEARCH INTO POLICY/PRACTICE
- A global-first self-management program for Activating Primary Care COPD Patients in the context of Multimorbidity (APCOM Program), which I developed, implemented and evaluated for my PhD, was selected as a ‘best practice’ primary care model by the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology and World Health Organization for the inaugural 2022 APSR-WHO Big 5 Lung Diseases Workshop in Seoul, South Korea. The Workshop report, which I co-authored, has been uploaded to the WHO Knowledge Action Portal on NCDs. The Workshop report has also been uploaded on the APSR website along with the APCOM Program toolkit, for potential translation of the Program to developing health systems.
- An assessment and planning template I developed for my doctoral research as part of the APCOM Program, is being used as a case study to showcase real-world implementation of the Health Belief Model for training of Doctor of Physiotherapy students at the University of Sydney.
- A global-first Digital Health Profile and Maturity Assessment Toolkit which I co-created, tested and implemented for the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office in 2019, was translated for comprehensive digital health maturity assessment of 17 Pacific Island Countries and Areas (PICs) in 2020 and further translated for development of digital health implementation roadmaps in 5 PICs in 2021.
- The recommendations from a systematic review on secondary use of electronic health record data, which I coordinated in late 2019 for the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, informed data quality assessment of the My Health Record data asset.
- In late 2018, I was invited by the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation to be part of an expert advisory panel for a Leading Better Value Care workshop on COPD and CHF attended by healthcare professionals across the state.
- The findings of a systematic review of mHealth for healthy ageing, which I coordinated, informed the 2018 WHO Western Pacific Regional Meeting.
- In late 2017, I was invited by GlaxoSmithKline Asia Pacific for an Australian research expert interview on self-management of COPD in the context of multi-morbidity, the audio podcast of which was uploaded to the GSK health portal as a professional development resource for primary care professionals.
My Grants
Mar 2024 A primary care multi-disciplinary team care approach, including pulmonary rehabilitation, to improve uptake and outcomes of comprehensive evidence-based care for COPD (MDT-PuRe-Primary Care); Chief Investigators: Sarah Dennis, Nicholas Zwar, Zoe McKeough, Jennifer Alison, Elizabeth Halcomb, Michelle Cunich, Sanjyot Vagholkar, Claudia Dobler, Serene Paul, Lisa Pagano, David Meharg, Sameera Ansari; Associate Investigators: Christine Jenkins, Renae McNamara, Wei Xuan, Matthew Jennings, Brendon McDougall, Kristen Short, Kelcie Herrmann, Helen Kulas; Partner Organisations: South Western Sydney Local Health District, South Western Sydney Primary Health Network, InterHealthcare, Lung Foundation Australia, The Healthy Communities Foundation Australia, Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network; Medical Research Future Fund Primary Health Care research grant through the National Health and Medical Research Council; $1,629, 441
Mar 2024 A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial to Digitally Support Self-management for Inhaler Device Technique and Medication Adherence among People with COPD and Comorbidities- The PRISIMA-PECO Trial; Medical Research Future Fund Chronic Respiratory Conditions grant through the National Health and Medical Research Council; Chief Investigators: Sameera Ansari (Lead and Coordinating Investigator), John Hurst, Helen Reddel, Nicholas Zwar, Sarah Dennis, Elizabeth Halcomb, Mouna Sawan, Joel Rhee, Rohina Joshi, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Marijka Batterham, Varinder Jeet; Associate Investigators: Nigel Hiller-Garvey, Russell Winwood, Ian Yang, Helen Kulas, Alicia Goodwin, Sarah Greenaway; Partner Organisations: Lung Foundation Australia and CareMonitor; $1,988,115
Aug 2023 A general practice toolkit to promote physical activity among people living with cancer; Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Foundation/BOQ Specialist Research Grant; Renae Lawrence, Sonia Markoff, Sameera Ansari, Nicola Burton, Kerry Uebel, Kylie Vuong; $20,000
May 2021 Activating Primary Care COPD Patients with Multi-morbidity (APCOM) Trial; Medical Research Future Fund Primary Health Care Research grant through the National Health and Medical Research Council; Chief Investigators: Nicholas Zwar, Ian Yang, Helen Reddel, Elizabeth Halcomb, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Sameera Ansari (Coordinating Investigator), Marijka Batterham, Glenn Salkeld; Associate Investigators: Sarah Dennis, Kelcie Herrmann, Lisa Collison, Mark Morgan; Partner Organisations: Lung Foundation Australia and Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association; $977,628
June 2020 Health Information and Digital Health Assessment in the Pacific; World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific; Teng Liaw, Sameera Ansari (Coordinating Investigator); $72,797
Mar 2020 Adoption of telehealth and digital health information systems in low and middle-income Pacific island countries and territories: a policy brief for health policymakers; Competitive grant from the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies; Adam Craig, Sameera Ansari, Teng Liaw, Sunia Soakai, Katri Maria Kontio, Alex Rosewell, Rowena Cullen, John Hall; $52,500
Mar 2019 Co-creation of digital health country profiles for the Pacific Island Countries; World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific; Teng Liaw, Sameera Ansari (Coordinating Investigator); $36,000
Feb 2019 A review of the use of mHealth to promote healthy ageing and support the delivery of age-friendly health and long-term care services in the Western Pacific Region; World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific; Teng Liaw, Sameera Ansari (Coordinating Investigator); $11,250
June 2018 Competitive sponsorship for presenting my research at the 2018 Primary Health Care Research Conference in Melbourne; Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, UNSW Sydney; Sameera Ansari; $2,000
June 2017 Competitive sponsorship for presenting my research at the ERS International Congress 2017 in Milan, Italy; European Respiratory Society; Sameera Ansari; $1,350
July 2015 Competitive sponsorship of registration fee for presenting my research at the 2015 Primary Health Care Research Conference in Adelaide; Primary Health Care Research and Information Service; Sameera Ansari; $400
May 2015 Activating Primary Care COPD Patients with Multi-morbidity (APCOM) Pilot Study; Investigator Sponsored Studies Grant (invited application, peer reviewed nationally and globally), GlaxoSmithKline Australia; Sameera Ansari (Lead and Coordinating Investigator), Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Sarah Dennis, Nicholas Zwar; $61,100
Jan 2015 Dora Lush Biomedical Postgraduate Scholarship towards PhD stipend and conference expenses for Years 2 and 3 of the APCOM Pilot Study; National Health and Medical Research Council; Sameera Ansari; $76,228
July 2014 Australian Postgraduate Award towards PhD stipend for Years 2 and 3; Commonwealth of Australia through University of New South Wales; Sameera Ansari; $44,436 (relinquished in January 2015 due to NHMRC Scholarship)
July 2014 Competitive sponsorship of registration fee for presenting my research at the 2014 Primary Health Care Research Conference in Canberra; Primary Health Care Research and Information Service; Sameera Ansari; $400
Nov 2013 Competitive scholarship for presenting my research at the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology Congress in Yokohama, Japan; Postgraduate Research Support Scheme, UNSW Sydney; Sameera Ansari; $3,300
July 2013 Competitive sponsorship of registration fee for attending the 2013 Primary Health Care Research Conference in Sydney; Primary Health Care Research and Information Service; Sameera Ansari; $350
My Qualifications
2018 Doctor of Philosophy - Public Health (Understanding the Impact of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Intervening to Improve Self-Management in the Context of Multi-morbidity), UNSW Sydney, Australia
2008 Master of Physiotherapy in Cardio-Pulmonary Sciences, Sri Ramachandra University (a Harvard Medical International institution), Chennai, India
2005 Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Sri Ramachandra University (a Harvard Medical International institution), Chennai, India
My Awards
Aug 2024 Early Career Research Excellence Award - School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
Apr 2020 Finalist - UNSW Graham Painton Clinical Respiratory Research Fellowship
Jun 2017 Young Scientist Sponsorship; European Respiratory Society
Nov 2016 Research Student Award; Postgraduate Council, UNSW Sydney
Jan 2015 Dora Lush Biomedical Postgraduate Scholarship; National Health and Medical Research Council
July 2014 Australian Postgraduate Award; Commonwealth of Australia (through UNSW)
Mar 2008 University gold medal for academic, clinical and research excellence during the Master of Physiotherapy in Cardio-Pulmonary Sciences program; Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India
Mar 2005 University gold medal for academic and clinical excellence during the Bachelor of Physiotherapy program; Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India
Jan 2005 Best Outgoing Physiotherapy Internee for outstanding health service delivery; Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India
Sep 2001 Founder Chancellor Award for first rank in foundation year of Bachelor's degree; Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India
My Research Activities
I lead my own program of innovative research on COPD, Multimorbidity, Digital Health, Integrated Care and Primary Health Care mainly using Implementation Science methodology. My current research projects:
My Research Supervision
Supervision keywords
Areas of supervision
I am keen to supervise MRes/PhD students on research projects that align with my expertise and interests: COPD and/or multimorbidity, self-management of chronic disease, digital health, clinical trials, implementation science, integrated care and primary health care.
Currently supervising
- Sadan Taher (UNSW MD Research ILP Program) as Primary Supervisor with Prof Alta Schutte as Co-Supervisor. Research topic: A systematic review of interventions for management of co-existing COPD and hypertension.
- Teresa Sheng (UNSW MD Research ILP Program) as Co-Supervisor with Prof Alta Schutte as Primary Supervisor. Research topic: Understanding Australian medical students' and academics' perspectives on curricula regarding the management of hypertension.
My Engagement
My current professional memberships:
Community Member - WHO Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases
Invited Member - Global Working Group on Cardiopulmonary Risk
Silver Member - European Respiratory Society; Member of ERS CONNECT Clinical Research Collaboration's Working Group on Position Statements on Digital Health in Respiratory Care
Ordinary Member - Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
Ordinary Member - The Thoracic Society of Australia & New Zealand
Health Professional Member - Lung Foundation Australia
Volunteer Member - Respiratory Network, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
Member - Global Burden of Disease Collaborator Network
Life Member - The Indian Association of Physiotherapists
My Teaching
2019 & 2021: Foundations in Public Health and Health Care Systems (PHCM9041) - Internal Tutor (2019 only) and Assessor
2020: Digital Health - Principles, Practice and Evidence (PHCM9790) - Curriculum development and Guest Lecturer
2019: Qualitative Research Methods (PHCM9120) - Tutor
2018: Global Chronic Disease Prevention and Control (PHCM2009) - Research expert input on COPD module
2018: Principles and Practice of Primary Health Care (PHCM9615) - Curriculum redevelopment
2017: Applied Research Methods for Public Health (PHCM9132) - External Tutor and Assessor
2016 & 2017: Principles of Health Education and Behaviour Change (GENM0708) - Internal Tutor and Assessor
2014 – 2017: Influencing Health Beliefs and Health Behaviours (PHCM4013) - Guest Lecturer (2017 only), Internal Tutor and Assessor
My teaching certifications:
2016: Foundations of University Learning and Teaching
2014: Beginning to Teach for ECRs and HDRs
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3192-7936