Dr Pallavi Joshi

Post Doctoral Research Associate, Health Industry Linkages In Africa For Pandemic Preparation

pallavi.joshi@open.ac.uk

Biography

Professional biography

I am a social scientist with an interdisciplinary focus on innovation and global development. I received a B.A. (Honours) in Economics from the University of Delhi, New Delhi, India (2010), and a master's degree in Economics from Ambedkar University, Delhi, India (2013). This initial training in economics motivated me to apply the lens of economic theories, and qualitative and quantitative analysis to complex research problems in global development. In India, I worked in several policy roles at the then Planning Commission of India (now NITI Aayog), the Competition Commission of India (competition regulator of India), and the Indian Council for International Economic Relations (a New Delhi-based think-tank).

In 2019, I was awarded the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) studentship to pursue doctoral studies at the Department of Development Policy and Practice (DPP), The Open University, UK. I investigated four case studies of artificial intelligence-based MedTech innovations developed by Indian start-ups for the early detection of cancer in low-resource healthcare settings. I particularly focussed on identifying and analysing institutional bundles that drive actors, knowledge and technologies, shaping specific capacity to innovate for low-resource healthcare settings. During my doctoral studies, I also provided teaching assistance to a module on Understanding Global Development within OU’s MSc Global Development. In addition, I was selected for a policy placement with HM Government Open Innovation Team (UK), a cross-government unit that works on a wide range of policy issues including health, justice, education, housing, foreign policy, and digital transformation. I received a PhD in Public Policy and Inclusive Health Innovation from the DPP, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at The Open University (OU) in 2023. Post PhD, I worked as a research consultant on scoping and developing projects on pandemic preparedness and scaling up engineering-based inclusive innovation at the OU.

Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in a British Academy-funded project titled 'Strengthening and Reimagining Health-Industry Policy Linkages for Pandemic Preparedness in Africa.

I am a member of the following associations and networks: the Global Network for The Economics of Learning, Innovation and Competence-Building Systems (Globelics), and the Innogen Institute.

Research interests

My research interests are in the intersection of public policy and health-industrial linkages, with a focus on innovation and development. I have a keen interest in engaging with wicked problems and complex research questions by applying novel theoretical and analytical frameworks and employing in-depth qualitative methods. Some of the research themes that I have worked on include AI-based Medtech for cancer in India, global value chains of oncology drugs, surveillance systems of antimicrobial resistance, medicine and medical device regulations, primary health systems to tackle non-communicable diseases.

Impact and engagement

I have engaged a wide range of stakeholders and interest groups in my interactions for research projects focussing on different facets of health-industrial linkages in India, the UK, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Vietnam, and Finland. To engage with diverse audiences, I have published findings and policy insights from my research projects through book chapters, working papers, reports, and policy briefs in India and the UK. Currently, I am co-authoring a book on the healthcare needs of low and middle-income and inclusive innovation, along with Prof Dinar Kale (The Open University, UK) and Prof Rebecca Hanlin (University of Johannesburg).