DrAyele Bali

My ultimate career goal was to emerge as a leading researcher in the field of maternal health. My journey toward realising this ambition commenced at Haramaya University in Ethiopia, where I served from September 2009 to May 2017. During this tenure, I diligently honed my foundational academic and research skills. Subsequently, I embarked on a doctoral journey at The University of Newcastle in Australia, financially supported
through the University of Newcastle International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (UNIPRS) and the University of Newcastle Research Scholarship Central (UNRSC), from May 2017 to February 2021. During this phase of my career journey, I led various research programs that enabled me to elevate my research competencies to a higher echelon. I employed a triangulation approach, drawing data from diverse sources and provided highly credible evidence for informed decision-making. This has been a key contributor to my upward trajectory of research outputs.

In February 2023, I attained a significant milestone by securing the highly competitive Executive Dean Health Research Fellowship at Deakin University. This prestigious fellowship has provided me with invaluable opportunities to further cultivate my research acumen and leadership prowess. In this role, I have been leading a research program assessing the health needs and maternity care experiences of African-born women living in Australia.

In my career, I have authored a total of 33 scientific papers, garnering significant citations [(over 33,000 citations with an H-index of 26. Remarkably, 35% of my publications fall within the top 1% of most cited works worldwide. Based on Scopus citation data, 92.3% of my publications have been published in the world’s top 25% ranked journals. I assumed the first or last authorship position in 50% of these papers. Additionally, I have co-authored several high-caliber papers in collaboration with GBD Studies and the Australian Based Ethiopian Researchers Network.

Recognising my research contributions, I successfully secured several awards, including but are not limited to, a highly competitive full PhD scholarship at the The University of Newcastle and the highly prestigious Executive Dean Health Research Fellowship at Deakin university.