Researcher

Professor David Peiris

Biography

David is Director of the Global Primary Health Program and Co-Director of the Centre for Health Systems Science at the George Institute for Global Health. He is a conjoint professor in the Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney and a practising GP.

David joined the George Institute in 2006 and is mainly interested in work to improve the performance of health systems for under-served populations in both high income countries and resource constrained...view more

David is Director of the Global Primary Health Program and Co-Director of the Centre for Health Systems Science at the George Institute for Global Health. He is a conjoint professor in the Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney and a practising GP.

David joined the George Institute in 2006 and is mainly interested in work to improve the performance of health systems for under-served populations in both high income countries and resource constrained settings. Health systems science is a dynamic and emerging discipline that includes health services research, health policy and systems research and implementation science. The goal of the Centre is to overcome the challenges of delivering affordable, high quality health services and programs to communities across the globe.

David has published extensively in areas related to health systems research and leads several grants testing innovative strategies to improve access to high quality primary health care in Australia, India and China with a particular focus on under-served populations.

He was previously a NHMRC Translating Research into Practice Fellow and is currently an NHMRC Level 2 Career Development Fellow and Heart Foundation Future Fellow. He was the 2015-2016 Australian Harkness Fellow in Healthcare policy, based at Harvard School of Public Health and conducted a national study of the changes to health care delivery systems associated with President Obama's reforms.

He has been a board member with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and sits on several government, non-government and research advisory committees. He was the elected co-chair of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases committee for hypertension control from 2012 to 2015.


My Grants

2020 – 2025 NHMRC Partnership Projects: Development and evaluation of regional health care alliances to improve health system performance in New South Wales – Patient Centred Co-commissioning Groups

Chief Investigators: Peiris D, Elshaug A, JOrm L, Jan S, Billot L, Pearson S, Schierhout G, Landon B, Huckel Schneider C

2019 -2024 NHMRC Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases: Scaling up evidence-based interventions for the prevention and management of hypertension and diabetes in rural China

Chief Investigators: Peiris D, Li Z, Xin D, Chen Z, Tian M, Mao L, Li B, Lung T, Li Q

2018-2021 NHMRC Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases Mental Health: Systematic Medical Assessment, Referral and Treatment for Mental Health Care in India - SMART Mental Health
Chief Investigators: Peiris D, Maulik P, Thornicroft G, Patel A, Sagar R, Praveen D, Raman U, Essue B, Billot L, Kant S

2015-2019 NHMRC Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases Prevention and treatment of Type 2 Diabetes
Chief Investigators: Peiris D, Zhang P, Ji L, Patel A, Xu J, Liang Z, Liu Y, Tian M, Essue B

2015-2018 NHMRC Project Grant An integrated general practice and pharmacy-based intervention to promote the prescription and use of appropriate preventive medications among individuals at high cardiovascular risk.
Chief Investigators: Patel A, Peiris D, Saini B, Joshi R, Usherwood T, Armour C, Webster R, Lo S

2015-2019 NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence Integrated Quality Improvement in Indigenous primary health care
Chief Investigators: Baile R, Peiris D, Cunningham F, Larkins S, Doran C, Cass A, O’Donoghue L, Nelson C, Burgess P, Tsey K

2015 National Heart Foundation of Australia/Vanguard Grant Nurse-led tailored risk reduction in atrial fibrillation
Chief Investigators: Neubeck A, Sanders P, Hendriks J, Peiris D

2014-2015 Royal Australian College of General Practitioners/ Therapeutic Guidelines Limited HealthTracker
Chief Investigators: Peiris D, Patel A, Gallagher M, Zoungas S, Hersch F, Paton C

2013-2017 NHMRC Partnership Grant Integrated SOLutions for sustainable fall preVEntion (iSOLVE)
Chief Investigators: Clemson A, Sherrington C, Roberts C, Peiris D, Willis K, Mackenzie L, Pit, S, Poulos R, Lam M, Lovarini J

2013-2017 NHMRC Project Grant: Consumer Navigation of Electronic Cardiovascular Tools - The CONNECT study
Chief Investigators: Peiris D, Usherwood T, Harris M, Rogers A, Panaretto K, Hayman N, Redfern J, Chow C, Lau A

2012-2015 NHMRC Global Alliance for Chronic Disease Hypertension in Low and Middle Income Country Settings:
Chief Investigators: Peiris D, Patel A, McMahon S, Prabhakaran D, Clifford G, Maulik P, Joshi R, Jan S, Heritier S

2012-2014 HCF Health and Medical Research Foundation Research Grant An integrated electronic decision support system for cardiovascular disease management. 
Chief Investigators: Redfern J, Peiris D, Patel A, Turnbull F, Stowasser D.

2012-2014 NHMRC Partnership grant: Electronic decision support for osteoporosis care to assist clinicians and patients in primary care and hospitals
Chief Investigators: Eisman J, Centre J, Nguyen N, Peiris D, Patel A, Dartnell J, Salkeld, G, Watt H, Goldstein S, Selecki Y

2011-2012 NHMRC Project Grant: Evaluation of a novel electronic decision support tool for cardiovascular risk management - the TORPEDO study
Chief Investigators: Patel A, Peiris D, Usherwood T, Harris M, Hayman N, Panaretto K, Redfern J, Zwar N, Colagiuri S

2011-2012 NHMRC Project Grant: What Determines Patients' Adherence to Treatment in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention? A Process Evaluation of The Kanyini-GAP Trial
Chief Investigators: Jan S, Usherwood T, Brien J, Peiris D, Rose J, Hayman N, Howard K

2010-2014 NHMRC Project Grant: A trial of the Polypill compared to usual care among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at high CVD risk:
Chief Investigators: Cass A, Brown A, Rodgers A, Hayman N, Usherwood T, Peiris D, Burke H.


My Qualifications

2011    Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney

2006    Master of International Public Health, University of Sydney

2006    Fellowship Advanced Rural General Practice, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)

2003    Graduate Diploma Rural General Practice, RACGP

2002    Fellowship of the RACGP

1995    Bachelor of Medicine/ Surgery, Honours, University of Sydney


My Awards

2018-21

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Career Development Fellowship Level 2

Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow

2015-16

Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy and Practice, Commonwealth Fund, USA

2015

RACGP/MDA National Best General Practice Research Article published in the Australian Family Physician in 2014

2014

Ralph Reader Prize for best clinical presentation at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Presented at the World Congress of Cardiology, Melbourne.

2014

Primary Health Care Research and Information Service “Snapshot of Australian primary health care research”- TORPEDO study selected as one of 14 research highlights for 2014 

2013-17

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian Primary Health Care Fellowship

2013

iMedicalApps & Medicine 2.0 mHealth award to my PhD student for best mHealth paper at the Medicine 2.0 conference, London

2012

George Institute for Global Health Excellence Award

2012

Finalist Diana Forsythe Award, American Medical Informatics Association for best paper/presentation that exemplifies the intersection of medical informatics and social sciences 

2011-12

NHMRC- National Heart Foundation Translating Research into Practice Fellowship Level 2

2010

John Chalmers Award for Healthcare Innovation, The George Institute for Global Health, University of Sydney

2009

Cross Cultural Public Health Research Award, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney

2008

Early in Career Public Health Award, Public Health Association of Australia

2007-09

Clinical Excellence Commission Ian O’Rourke PhD scholarship in patient safety

 

2000

David Game prize for highest overall mark in the 2000 RACGP examination for South Australia & the Northern Territory


My Research Activities

2011, 2014

Health Research Council of New Zealand Grant Review Panel member

2012, 2014, 2017

NHMRC Project Grant Review Panel Member and External Assessor

2011

Hospital Alliance for Research Collaboration Scholarship selection committee member

2010 - present

Peer reviewer for several journals including Lancet, PloS Medicine, BioMed Central journals, Canadian Medical Association Journal, BMJ Open, Journal of Medical Internet Research, Australian Family Physician, Australian Journal of Primary Health Care

2009 - present

Reviewer, RACGP/Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute, National Research Awards Committee 

2015 - present

Review Editor, Frontiers in Public Health

2017 - present

Academic editor, Plos Medicine

2017 - present

Canadian Institute for Health Research, Expert Panel Review member


My Teaching

2013-ongoing University of Sydney, School of Public Health Lecturer 
  Master of Clinical Epidemiology Program- Translating Research into Practice Unit
  Master of International Public Health Program- Global Non-Communicable Diseases Unit
2012-ongoing University Western Sydney, School of Medicine Year 1 students, Lecture on cardiovascular disease in Aboriginal communities
2010-ongoing  Wentwest Division of General Practice GP Registrar workshop- Primary health care approaches to cardiovascular disease prevention
2010-ongoing  Lecturer for the on-line Non-communicable Disease Prevention and Control course: “Primary Healthcare and Cardiovascular Disease prevention” Master of Public Health program, University of Sydney
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