Sara

Bennett

, PhD, MPhil

Sara Bennett, PhD, is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she also serves as Faculty Co-Chair of the Gupta Klinsky India Institute. A health policy and systems researcher with more than thirty years of experience, she has worked extensively across Sub-Saharan Africa and South and South East Asia. Her research has shaped the field of Health Policy and Systems Research, advancing its definition and building institutional and individual capacity worldwide. She has particular expertise in health financing, workforce, markets, governance, and the use of evidence in policy, with current projects focused on donor transitions and sustainability, strengthening national public health institutes, and primary health care systems.

Dr. Bennett has led numerous mixed-method evaluations of complex health systems interventions, including ongoing work on public–private partnerships for diagnostics in Sub-Saharan Africa. Her career spans academic, policy, and practice roles: she previously served as Research Director for Partners for Health Reform/Partners for Health Reformplus, Executive Director of the WHO Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, Chair of Health Systems Global, and Co-Editor in Chief of Health Policy and Planning.