Paula Lorgelly CV- Click Here!
Election Statement for IHEA President-Elect
Paula Lorgelly
Current positions:
- Professor of Health Economics, School of Population Health and Department of Economics,
University of Auckland (New Zealand) - Adjunct Professor, Monash University (Australia)
- Honorary Professor, University College London (UK)
Previous involvement with IHEA: - Chair (co-chair) of the Scientific Committee for the 2025 (2023) Congress
- Program Chair for 2017, 2019, 2021
- Member of the IHEA Finance Committee, 2020-2024
Candidate statement:
Why am I standing?
I have grown up with IHEA. While my 25-year career has seen me move around the globe and
across academic and non-academic organisations, the one thing that has been constant in my career
is my membership and engagement with IHEA.
IHEA has introduced me to ideas and individuals I could never have accessed otherwise. I vividly
remember my first IHEA Congress in 2001, sitting in awe as Amartya Sen – a Nobel laureate and
the plenary speaker – shared his wisdom. There I was, a recent Economics graduate from Aotearoa
New Zealand, hanging on his every word. Sen was someone whose work I had cited in my PhD,
what an opportunity IHEA had provided me.
Every IHEA Congress I’ve attended has left a lasting impression on me; similarly, every IHEA SIG
I’ve engaged with and IHEA mentoring role I’ve had. The organisation has given so much to me –
now it’s my turn to give back.
This is why I am standing for President Elect. IHEA has played a pivotal role in shaping my career,
and I want to ensure it stays relevant and valuable for generations of members to come.
What do I bring to the role?
I have had an international career as a health economist, working in academia in New Zealand,
Australia, the UK and Germany (as well as conducting research in several low- and middle-income
countries). I have also been the Deputy Director at the Office of Health Economics in the UK. I
have considerable experience in research, consultancy and providing policy advice.
I have previously served as national organiser of the UK’s Health Economists’ Study Group
(HESG). I am a member of the EuroQol Group and co-chair of its Populations and Health Systems
Working Group, and current president of the ISPOR NZ Chapter (the only health economics
organisation in New Zealand).
I have served on numerous grant panels and advisory committees, held memberships of journal
editorial boards, and I was recently appointed as an Associate Editor of Health Economics.
Why vote for me?
IHEA is entering a new chapter with Prof Susan Ettner as the new Executive Director. Susan will be
outstanding in this role, and I believe the continuity I bring, having chaired the last two congresses
and served on the Finance Committee, will be invaluable in supporting this transition.
For IHEA to thrive, we must strengthen our financial sustainability, so we are prepared for
uncertainties that come with rising geopolitics and the threat of future pandemics. This means
growing the membership base and decoupling from our reliance on biennial meetings. I want to lead
a review of how other organisations deliver value beyond conferences and explore opportunities for
education, training, and engagement outwith the two year congress cycle.
We must also ensure IHEA is an environmentally sustainable organisation. I will explore innovative
ways for the organisation to be global while remaining locally engaged. IHEA has already
strengthened regional representation on the Board, and I will work to ensure these members bring
forward the plurality of voices from their regions. Coming from a geographically isolated and
sparsely populated country, I have a unique perspective on this challenge – the need to build
capacity, foster engagement, and grow our network, while doing so in a way that is both inclusive
and sustainable.
I look forward to working with the new Executive Director and the IHEA Board to serve you – the
members – by improving the organisation, promoting our discipline to deliver health economics
research that can improve health for all.