Dr. Priya Balasubramaniam is a highly respected public health scientist and policy leader with more than two decades of experience in health systems research, universal health coverage (UHC) strategy, and innovation-driven health policy development. She currently serves as Senior Public Health Scientist and Director of the Universal Health Initiative at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), where she directs one of India’s seminal efforts to inform health system reform and strengthen policy-relevant evidence for equitable healthcare delivery.

Her work spans urban health, health systems strengthening, health financing, public policy, and the use of health technologies to address complex health challenges in low- and middle-income settings. As head of the PHFI UHC Initiative, she co-authored the Government of India’s High Level Expert Group recommendations on universal health coverage during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, a landmark policy exercise that helped shape national discourse on health system reform. She also co-founded the Innovation for Universal Health Collaborative, a tripartite South–South initiative with PHFI, Amref Africa, and the University of Sussex’s Institute of Development Studies, focused on leveraging low-cost technologies and new care models to advance UHC in Asia and Africa.

Dr. Balasubramaniam’s leadership reflects both strategic vision and field-based expertise: she has led multi-country research projects that examine the political, economic, and organizational barriers to effective health services, tracked health outcomes in mixed public-private health systems, and influenced policy across urban and rural landscapes. Her projects include defining research priorities for urban health in India, editorial and authorship contributions to PHFI’s Urban Health Landscape report series, and partnerships with the Consortia of Affordable Technologies to mentor early-stage social impact innovations in health.

A sought-after advisor, she has consulted with major multilateral organizations, including the World Health Organization, World Bank, USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European Commission, and others, on health systems and policy issues. Dr. Balasubramaniam also holds visiting faculty positions at the National University of Singapore and the Keenan Research Centre at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, and is a Fellow at the Institute for Health System Innovation and Policy at Boston University.

Her multidisciplinary academic background includes advanced degrees in public policy and administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government, international health from the University of Texas Health Science Center, and professional training in dental public health and dentistry from the University of Toronto and the University of Madras.

Through her influential leadership in research, policy shaping, and global health partnerships, Dr. Priya Balasubramaniam continues to advance evidence-based strategies that support equitable, efficient, and resilient health systems—reinforcing the foundational pillars of Universal Health Coverage both in India and internationally.