Research Fellow
Dr Sameera Ansari
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
Medicine & Health
School of Population Health
Sameera has over 17 years of experience in health care as a cardio-respiratory physiotherapist, applied research scientist and project manager. Her PhD research comprised development, implementation and mixed-method evaluation of a global-first, self-management intervention for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in the context of multi-morbidity in Australian general practice. Sameera has authored peer-reviewed scientific publications, contributed to policy documents, presented at prestigious national and international conferences, given media interviews and successfully attracted research funding including NHMRC and industry-funded grants. Till date, she has led several research projects to completion and contributed to 7 undergraduate and postgraduate public health courses at the UNSW Faculty of Medicine and Health.
Sameera is skilled in clinical research, project management, stakeholder engagement, fundamental research methods, systematic review of literature, co-design, implementation and evaluation of clinical trials, conceptualising original research studies, writing human research ethics applications, program development for self-management of chronic disease, developing evidence-based implementation & evaluation frameworks and health information assessment. Through the course of her 9-year public health career, she has worked with health organisations such as NSW Health, GlaxoSmithKline Australia, Lung Foundation Australia, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Asia eHealth Information Network, Pacific Health Information Network and the World Health Organization. Sameera is 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. Her main research interests are COPD, respiratory medicine, chronic disease prevention and management, health systems, global health, digital health, implementation science and primary health care.
Sameera is a NHMRC Post-Doctoral 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.
E-mail
Location
UNSW School of Population Health
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
May 2021 Activating Primary Care COPD Patients with Multi-morbidity (APCOM) Trial; Australian Government Department of Health Medical Research Future Fund Primary Health Care Implementation Research grant through the National Health and Medical Research Council; Chief Investigators: Nicholas Zwar, Ian Yang, Helen Reddel, Elizabeth Halcomb, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Sameera Ansari, Marijka Batterham, Glenn Salkeld; Associate Investigators: Sarah Dennis, Kelcie Herrmann, Lisa Collison, Mark Morgan
June 2020 Health Information and Digital Health Assessment in the Pacific; World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific; Teng Liaw, Sameera Ansari
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; 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
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
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
June 2018 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
June 2017 Sponsorship for presenting my research at the ERS International Congress 2017 in Milan, Italy; European Respiratory Society; Sameera Ansari
July 2015 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
May 2015 Activating Primary Care COPD Patients with Multi-morbidity (APCOM) Pilot Study; Investigator Sponsored Studies Grant, GlaxoSmithKline Australia; Sameera Ansari, Hassan Hosseinzadeh, Sarah Dennis, Nicholas Zwar
Jan 2015 Dora Lush Biomedical Postgraduate Scholarship towards stipend and conference expenses while working on the APCOM Pilot Project; National Health and Medical Research Council; Sameera Ansari
July 2014 UNSW Australian Postgraduate Award towards PhD stipend; Commonwealth of Australia; Sameera Ansari
July 2014 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
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
July 2013 Sponsorship of registration fee for attending the 2013 Primary Health Care Research Conference in Sydney; Primary Health Care Research and Information Service; Sameera Ansari
May 2021 Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship as Coordinating Chief Investigator of the Activating Primary Care COPD Patients with Multimorbidity (APCOM) Trial; National Health and Medical Research Council
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 Sydney)
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
My current research projects:
- A Systematic Review of Clinical Decision Support Systems for Diagnosis and/or Management of People with Co-existing Asthma and COPD (Lead Investigator)
- Activating Primary Care COPD Patients in the context of Multi-morbidity (APCOM) Trial - a randomised controlled clinical trial in NSW and QLD general practice (Coordinating Investigator)
- Health Information System and Digital Health Maturity assessment for Pacific Island Countries and Territories (Coordinating Investigator)
- Effectiveness, impact and consequences of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) for breathlessness in primary care and outpatient services: A systematic review (Co-Investigator)
- Impact of multimorbidity and complex multimorbidity on mortality among older Australians aged 45 years and over: A large population-based record linkage study (Co-Investigator)
- Development of a policy brief on digital health adoption for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (Co-Investigator)
My current professional memberships:
Invited Member - NSW Health Covid-19 Respiratory Clinical Community of Practice
Individual Member - Maridulu Budyari Gumal Respiratory Clinical Academic Group
Health Professional Member - Lung Foundation Australia
Individual Member - Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care
Member - Pacific Health Information Network
Volunteer Member - Respiratory and Cardiac Networks, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation
Life Member - 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: 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: