Shalini is an implementation scientist and physiotherapist who is working as a Lecturer in Health Systems at the Methodologies Research Division of the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care, King’s College London.

She is interested in using implementation research methods to explore the confluence of evidence-based interventions and how they are delivered throughout health and care systems, to support evidence-based policies that can effectively improve global health.

Currently, she also works as a research manager for the NIHR ARC National Priorities Programme on Mental Health including children and young people’s mental health (https://www.arc-sl.nihr.ac.uk/research-and-implementation/our-research-areas/mental-health-implementation-network).

Prior to this, Shalini was working with NIHR Health Protection Research Unit at Imperial College London for ASPIRES project. Here, she supported the development and evaluation of context-specific behavioural, structural and technological interventions aiming at optimising antibiotic usage across the surgical pathway in England, India, Rwanda and South Africa.

Shalini also worked for the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in Emerging Mental Health Systems in Low and Middle-Income countries (EMERALD) and Programme for Improving Mental Health Care (PRIME) projects. Here, she worked towards integrating mental health at primary levels by strengthening mental health information systems.

She holds a PhD in Health Services Research from King’s College London and a master’s degree in Health Management, Planning and Policy from the University of Leeds.

Research profile

 Research Interests

• Implementation science in global health context
• Integrated Mental and Physical Health Care
• Adoption of virtual health care
• Mixed Methods Research
• Health Management Information Systems 

 

Teaching

Dr  Ahuja has previously taught in an MSc module on scaling up mental health interventions and contributed to teachings on implementation science in global health, health system strengthening and service user involvement in research. She currently supervises research assistants working towards prioritising mental health interventions for the ARC priority network.

Module Lead: 'Health Systems' at Digital Health and Technology Solutions & Health Systems Management

Supervision

• Implementation science
• Integrated mental and physical
• Health services
• Hybrid trials design 

Expertise and Public Engagement

Dr Ahuja presented her PhD findings in October 2017 at the House of Parliament, Westminster, was invited to commission research led by WHO Kobe Centre and Save The Children and has written newspaper article and blogs for the One World South Asia and the Indian Express on the stigmatisation of mental health in the Indian sub-continent.