Dr. Abdul Ghaffar serves as Executive Director of the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR), shaping the field through developing and testing innovative models in both research and implementation of programmes for health systems strengthening and enhancing the use of evidence in decision-making. A physician by training with a PhD in International Health from the Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Ghaffar has worked in low and middle income countries over the past 30 years, managing a wide range of research porfolios; designing and evaluating national health systems; and training future generations of health systems researchers and decision makers. He brings a unique lens as a researcher who has worn the hats of both practitioner and policy-maker and dedicates his work to innovations in enhancing collaboration across key players working towards improvements in health systems performance.Dr. Ghaffar started his career as a public health physician in Pakistan, before moving into several leadership positions, including Assistant Director-General of Policy and Planning, and Dean of the Health Services Academy, a national school of public health. He later served as Regional Advisor for Research in the Eastern Mediterranean office of the WHO. His intellectual contributions through many influential papers and seminal global reports and strategies continue to set standards and guidance in Health Policy and Systems Research and to challenge the status quo.