School of Public Health

Dr Anjana Rai

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Public Health
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Researcher biography

Dr Anjana Rai is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Women and Girls' Health Research Centre, School of Public Health. She currently supports two longitudinal studies: the IVF support study in Australia, and The Adolescent Menstrual Experiences and Health Cohort (AMEHC) in Bangladesh. Dr Rai was awarded her PhD in Public Health (2025) by Queensland University of Technology. Her doctoral research explored the nexus of adolescent marriage, agency, and nutrition, examining how early-life transitions shape diets and nutritional outcomes, using mixed-methods.

Her expertise lies in improving maternal, child, and adolescent health and nutrition, drawing on social science theories and longitudinal approaches and contributes to research in South Asia and Australia. She consulted for International Food Policy Research Institute on prevention of childhood wasting to inform the UN JUNIPr initiative. In her previous roles with the World Health Organisation, the World Food Programme, the World Bank, and Nepal’s Department of Health Services, she helped develop public health policies and programmes. She holds a PhD, MSc and a Bachelor in Public Health and is open to supervising future higher degree research students.

Research interests: Women's health, Preconception health, Adolescent health, Child health, Diets, Nutrition and Growth, Social determinants, Equity, Co-design, Longitudinal and Life-course approaches

Publications

Journal Articles (14)

Journal Articles

Rai, Anjana, Cunningham, Kenda, Wraith, Darren, Adhikari, Ramesh P., Sendall, Marguerite C., Saville, Naomi and Nambiar, Smita (2026). Dietary diversity, haemoglobin and anaemia in Nepali adolescent girls: a longitudinal study. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 22 (1) e70090, 1-11. doi: 10.1111/mcn.70090
Rai, Anjana, Sabin, Lucie, Becquey, Elodie, Brander, Rebecca, Huybregts, Lieven and Saville, Naomi (2025). Review of reviews of single or multi-system interventions to prevent child wasting in low- and middle-income countries. PROSPERO.
Rai, Anjana, Khatri, Resham B. and Assefa, Yibeltal (2024). Primary health care systems and their contribution to universal health coverage and improved health status in seven countries: An explanatory mixed-methods review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21 (12) 1601, 1-18. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21121601
Rai, Anjana, Chan, Mei Ting and Nambiar, Smita (2023). Social and ecological disparities in anaemia among adolescent girls 15-19 years old in Nepal. Public Health Nutrition, 26 (12), 2973-2981. doi: 10.1017/s1368980023002379
Sunuwar, Dev Ram, Bhatta, Anuradha, Rai, Anjana, Chaudhary, Narendra Kumar, Tamang, Man Kumar, Nayaju, Suvash and Singh, Devendra Raj (2023). The factors influencing inappropriate child feeding practices among families receiving nutrition allowance in the Himalayan region of Nepal. BMC Nutrition, 9 (1) 33, 1-13. doi: 10.1186/s40795-023-00691-3
Miller, Faith A., Dulal, Sophiya, Rai, Anjana, Gram, Lu, Harris-Fry, Helen and Saville, Naomi M. (2023). "Can't live willingly": a thematic synthesis of qualitative evidence exploring how early marriage and early pregnancy affect experiences of pregnancy in South Asia. PLoS Global Public Health, 3 (10) e0002279, e0002279. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0002279
Rai, Anjana, Khan, Md Nuruzzaman and Thapa, Subash (2020). Trends and determinants of anaemia in women of Nepal: a multilevel analysis. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 16 (4) e13044, e13044. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13044
Tamrakar, Dipesh, Shrestha, Archana, Rai, Anjana, Karmacharya, Biraj Man, Malik, Vasanti, Mattei, Josiemer and Spiegelman, Donna (2020). Drivers of healthy eating in a workplace in Nepal: a qualitative study. BMJ Open, 10 (2) e031404, e031404. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031404
Rai, Anjana, Maharjan, Macha Raja, Fry, Helen A. Harris, Chhetri, Parbati K., Wasti, Purna Chandra and Saville, Naomi M. (2019). Consumption of rice, acceptability and sensory qualities of fortified rice amongst consumers of social safety net rice in Nepal. PLoS One, 14 (10) e0222903, e0222903. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222903
Rai, Anjana, Gurung, Swadesh, Thapa, Subash and Saville, Naomi M. (2019). Correlates and inequality of underweight and overweight among women of reproductive age: evidence from the 2016 Nepal Demographic Health Survey. PLoS One, 14 (5) e0216644, 1-16. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216644
Angdembe, Mirak Raj, Rai, Anjana, Bam, Kiran and Pandey, Satish Raj (2019). Predictors of mortality in adult people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in Nepal: a retrospective cohort study, 2004-2013. PLoS One, 14 (4) e0215776, 1-20. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215776
Saville, Naomi M., Shrestha, Bhim P., Style, Sarah, Harris-Fry, Helen, Beard, B. James, Sen, Aman, Jha, Sonali, Rai, Anjana, Paudel, Vikas, Sah, Raghbendra, Paudel, Puskar, Copas, Andrew, Bhandari, Bishnu, Neupane, Rishi, Morrison, Joanna, Gram, Lu, Pulkki-Brannstrom, Anni-Maria, Skordis-Worrall, Jolene, Basnet, Machhindra, de Pee, Saskia, Hall, Andrew, Harthan, Jayne, Thondoo, Meelan, Klingberg, Sonja, Messick, Janice, Manandhar, Dharma S., Osrin, David and Costello, Anthony (2018). Impact on birth weight and child growth of Participatory Learning and Action women's groups with and without transfers of food or cash during pregnancy: Findings of the low birth weight South Asia cluster-randomised controlled trial (LBWSAT) in Nepal. PLoS One, 13 (5) e0194064, 1-29. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194064
Style, Sarah, Beard, B. James, Harris-Fry, Helen, Sengupta, Aman, Jha, Sonali, Shrestha, Bhim P., Rai, Anjana, Paudel, Vikas, Thondoo, Meelan, Pulkki-Brannstrom, Anni-Maria, Skordis-Worrall, Jolene, Manandhar, Dharma S., Costello, Anthony and Saville, Naomi M. (2017). Experiences in running a complex electronic data capture system using mobile phones in a large-scale population trial in southern Nepal. Global Health Action, 10 (1) 1330858, 1-13. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2017.1330858
Saville, Naomi M., Shrestha, Bhim P., Style, Sarah, Harris-Fry, Helen, Beard, B. James, Sengupta, Aman, Jha, Sonali, Rai, Anjana, Paudel, Vikas, Pulkki-Brannstrom, Anni-Maria, Copas, Andrew, Skordis-Worrall, Jolene, Bhandari, Bishnu, Neupane, Rishi, Morrison, Joanna, Gram, Lu, Sah, Raghbendra, Basnet, Machhindra, Harthan, Jayne, Manandhar, Dharma S., Osrin, David and Costello, Anthony (2016). Protocol of the Low Birth Weight South Asia Trial (LBWSAT), a cluster-randomised controlled trial testing impact on birth weight and infant nutrition of Participatory Learning and Action through women's groups, with and without unconditional transfers of fortified food or cash during pregnancy in Nepal. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 16 (1) 320. doi: 10.1186/s12884-016-1102-x