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Anja Mizdrak image 2020DPhil
Senior Research Fellow

Contact details

Tel +64 4 918 6192
Email anja.mizdrak@otago.ac.nz

Research interests and activities

Dr Anja Mizdrak is a public health researcher who specialises in quantitative modelling. Her work has covered multiple topics including alcohol, transport, physical activity, COVID-19, and nutrition. Anja is interested in the role of modelling in public health policy and practice, and the wider societal impacts of health behaviours and interventions, such as impacts on inequities and the environment. She currently works across multiple projects including:

  • Seeking the Transport Sweet Spot: health, equity, and zero carbon (led by Associate Professor Caroline Shaw)
  • Prioritising Māori health and equity: a critical approach to modelling (led by Dr Melissa McLeod)

Anja joined the University of Otago in 2017 to work on the Burden of Disease Epidemiology, Equity and Cost-Effectiveness Programme (BODE³). Prior to joining the University, Anja completed her PhD which investigated the impact of health-related food taxes and subsidies in the UK, specifically focusing on differential impacts by household income. Anja's interest in public health began during her undergraduate degree in Human Sciences at the University of Oxford.

Publications

Mizdrak, A., Tatah, L., Mueller, N., Shaw, C., & Woodcock, J. (2023). Assessing the health impacts of changes in active transport: An updated systematic review. Journal of Transport & Health, 33, 101702. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2023.101702

Chambers, T., Mizdrak, A., Herbert, S., Davies, A., & Jones, A. (2023). The estimated health impact of alcohol interventions in New Zealand: A modelling study. Addiction. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/add.16331

Suel, E., Muller, E., Bennett, J. E., Blakely, T., Doyle, Y., Lynch, J., … Mizdrak, A., … Ezzati, M. (2023). Do poverty and wealth look the same the world over? A comparative study of 12 cities from five high-income countries using street images. EPJ Data Science, 12, 19. doi: 10.1140/epjds/s13688-023-00394-6

Gage, R., Mizdrak, A., Richards, J., Bauman, A., McLeod, M., Jones, R., … Shaw, C. (2023). The epidemiology of domain-specific physical activity in New Zealand adults: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 20, 909-920. doi: 10.1123/jpah.2022-0156

Bergen, T., Kim, A. H. M., Mizdrak, A., Signal, L., Kira, G., & Richards, J. (2023). Determinants of future physical activity participation in New Zealand adolescents across sociodemographic groups: A descriptive study. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 20, 6001. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20116001

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