DrAnita Lal

I am a health economist specialising in health equity. My work focuses on using economic evaluation, linked datasets, and economic modelling to understand and reduce disparities in health outcomes. I apply these methods across a wide range of public health areas, including cancer screening, obesity prevention, mental health, physical activity promotion, and smoking cessation. I am passionate about generating evidence that supports fair, effective policy and helps improve population health.

I held a Victorian Cancer Agency Early Career Fellowship (2021–2024), where I examined the equity impacts and cost‑effectiveness of targeted programs designed to increase cancer screening in priority populations. In 2019, I was awarded an Executive Dean Post‑doctoral Fellowship, during which I explored inequalities in healthcare use and bowel cancer screening in South Australia using linked data.

 

My PhD, awarded in 2018, focused on incorporating equity into cost‑effectiveness analysis for obesity prevention policies as part of the NHMRC‑funded Centre for Research Excellence in Obesity Policy and Food Systems.

 

I am also a Co‑convenor of the Australian Health Economics Society Equity Special Interest Group.