Dalya has extensive experience of working in Public Health across London, and she has always been driven by a desire to address the health inequalities in our society. Dalya is co-located in Islington local authority where she works on a diverse portfolio, combining PH practice with academia and most recently as co-investigator on an NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) grant. The aim of HDRCs is for local authorities to become more research active and embrace research into local government decision-making practices.

Dalya is interested in integrating public health research into practice, and ensuring that her research is of relevance to policy makers and planners. As part of this function, she is part of the NIHR School for PH Research at LSHTM and ARC North Thames where she is academic lead for the Patient & Public Involvement and Engagement. Dalya’s current research interests focus on the wider determinants of health, particularly around place and health.

Dalya is passionate to develop innovative ways of understanding the needs of our communities, through research, and public engagement and participatory activities. Dalya has led and supported several research projects using the photovoice methodology. She is currently working on capturing young people’s views on the mandatory calorie labelling policy as well as evaluating selective licensing policy for private renting tenants.

She worked as a coronary heart disease manager at Ealing Primary Care Trust (2004-2006) before taking up the joint academia and practice post in 2006. Between 1997 and 2004, Dalya worked at the LSHTM researching the public health and policy implications of the screening for, and prevention of coronary morbidity/mortality (specifically familial hypercholeterolaemia).

Prior to this, Dalya was the study coordinator of the Whitehall II Study at University College London and worked on EU funded projects examining the differences in health outcomes across eastern and western Europe.