Professor Joshua Vogel
Co-Program Director, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health; Co-Head, Global Women’s and Newborn’s Health Group; Senior Principal Research Fellow
Working groups

Background
Joshua is a perinatal epidemiologist and public health researcher. He is a Senior Principal Research Fellow at Burnet Institute, where he co-heads the multidisciplinary Global Women’s and Newborn’s Health group.
His research focuses on maternal and perinatal health issues of global concern, with a focus on improving the quality of maternity care for women in resource-constrained settings. Joshua has published over 200 peer-review articles and has led development of several World Health Organization guidelines in the field of maternal and perinatal health. He was the winner of the 2020 Nature Research Awards for Driving Global Impact, and the 2020 Commonwealth Health Minister's Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research.
His areas of professional interest are interventional trials, clinical epidemiology and guideline development and implementation.
Qualifications
- PhD Maternal and Perinatal Health: "Poor maternal and neonatal outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: epidemiological analyses of contributing factors.” University of Western Australia
- MBBS Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (Honours) 2009, University of Western Australia
- B.Med.Sci Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) 2009, University of Western Australia
Appointments
- Adjunct Professor (Research), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
- Member, NHMRC Research Committee (2021 – 2024)
- Associate Professor (Honorary), School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne
- Associate Professor (Honorary) – School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health at Deakin University
- Senior Research Fellow (Honorary) in the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, University of Birmingham
Awards
- 2023: Burnet Institute Gust-McKenzie Medal
- 2021: Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research
- 2021: NHMRC Peter Doherty Investigator Grant Award (Emerging Leadership)
- 2020: Alastair Lucas Prize for Medical Research
- 2020: Nature Research Awards for Driving Global Impact
- 2020: Jean Hailes Postdoctoral Travel Fellowship in Women’s Health
- 2019: Australian Epidemiological Association Mid-Career Travel Award
- 2019: Jean Hailes Postdoctoral Travel Fellowship in Women’s Health
- 2013: Preterm Birth International Collaborative (PREBIC) 2013 ‘Young Scientist of the Year’
- 2011–2014: PhD Scholarship - Australian Postgraduate Award
- 2011–2014: PhD Scholarship - A & A Saw Scholarship
- 2009: Joel Carson Memorial Award for Service to the WA Medical Students Society
- 2008: Convocation, the UWA Graduates Association Prize
- 2008: Jack Bercov Memorial Prize
- 2007: Jean Rogerson Undergraduate Studentship
Positions
- Aug 2023–present: Co-Program Director, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health
- Oct 2022–present: Senior Principal Research Fellow, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, Burnet Institute
- Jun 2018–present: Research Consultant and Guideline Methodologist, Department of Reproductive Health and Research Geneva, World Health Organization, Switzerland
- Sept 2022–Oct 2023: Deputy Discipline Head, International Development
- March 2020–March 2022: Methods Co-Chair, Pregnancy and Perinatal Care Panel, National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce
- Sept 2018–Oct 2022: Principal Research Fellow, Burnet Institute
- Feb 2014–Jun 2018: Technical Officer, Department of Reproductive Health and Research Geneva, World Health Organization, Switzerland
- May 2011–Jan 2014: Research Consultant, Department of Reproductive Health and Research Geneva, World Health Organization, Switzerland
- Sept 2016–Dec 2016: Visiting Honorary Lecturer, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Nairobi, Kenya
- Jan 2010–Apr 2011: Junior Medical Officer, West Australian Department of Health
Current projects
View 14 more
Accelerating Innovation for Mothers (AIM) 2.0
Globally, approximately 287,000 women die every year from pregnancy-related conditions and complications, with most of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although investment in global maternal health has increased in the past 30 years, research and development (R&D) of new products has been a neglected area.

Global maternal and newborn health platform
We're gathering data on the care provided to women as well as asking women about their experiences.

Characteristics of tools that predict pre-eclampsia risk: a new target product profile
This project will help people design and develop effective and affordable tools that more accurately predict pre-eclampsia in pregnant people.
Past projects
View 6 moreNew Target Product Profile for maternal gut microbiome and nutrition interventions
Burnet Institute and Concept Foundation have partnered to develop a new Target Product Profile (TPP) for maternal microbiome interventions, aiming to improve undernutrition and related maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes.

Target product profile for obstetric ultrasound devices
The market for ultrasound devices is rapidly expanding, particularly as technological advances allow for smaller, cheaper, and more portable devices to be developed.

Implementing the WHO Labour Care Guide to reduce the use of Caesarean section in four hospitals in India
We're helping implement the World Health Organization's (WHO) Labour Care Guide into four hospitals in India.
News and features
View 8 moreWorld Health Day 2025: healthy beginnings, hopeful futures
On World Health Day, we're emphasising how healthy beginnings for mothers and babies lead to hopeful futures.
NHMRC Investigator Grants
Burnet researchers Joshua Vogel and Nick Scott have received funding for projects relating to pre-eclampsia prevention and hepatitis C and HIV elimination.
