Dr Rathi Ravindrarajah is a Research Fellow in the Mental Health Research Group within the Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Manchester, and a member of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM). With over a decade of postdoctoral experience in applied health research, she has developed a distinctive interdisciplinary profile spanning psychiatric epidemiology, primary care data science, ageing, and health inequalities.

Dr Ravindrarajah's research is grounded in the analysis of large-scale electronic health records, with expertise in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), and the Greater Manchester Care Record (GMCR). Her research interests centre on mental health outcomes in older adults, health inequalities in primary care access, multimorbidity, diabetes prevention, and frailty across the life course.

She is Principal Investigator on an NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR)-funded mixed methods study examining mental health outcomes and utilisation of mental health care services in older adults in primary care (£243,148), and holds additional funding from the University of Manchester Digital Health and AI Innovation Lab, the Health Inequalities Innovation Lab, and the University's Social Responsibility Dragon's Den Fund. 

Prior to her current post, Dr Ravindrarajah held a Research Associate position at King's College London (2015–2017), where she conducted a Dunhill Medical Trust-funded cohort study of ageing populations using CPRD, focusing on cardiovascular risk management in older adults. Earlier posts included a Research Associate role at the University of Manchester evaluating the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, and positions at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, University College London, and the Health Protection Agency.

Dr Ravindrarajah holds a PhD in Medical and Human Sciences from the University of Manchester (2015). She is EDI Lead for the Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, a member of the StellarHE leadership development cohort for Black, Asian, and Racially Diverse leaders in higher education. She is an active contributor to the Brilliant Club Scholars Programme, supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in accessing higher education.