Dr Maya Semrau is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Equitable Global Health Research (CEGHR) at the Brighton & Sussex Medical School (BSMS), where she works as a Principal Research Fellow in Implementation Research in the Global Health and Infection Department. Maya is also the current Chair of the Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) NGO Network (NNN)'s Disease Management, Disability and Inclusion (DMDI) Cross-Cutting Group and a core member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Skin-NTD Psychosocial Aspects Working Group. 

Maya has a particular interest in NTDs, mental health and stigma. She has worked at BSMS since 2017 on the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Unit (GHRU) for NTDs in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Sudan, for which she has co-led the Implementation Research Theme since 2021. She is also currently the scientific lead of the Leprosy Research Initiative (LRI)-funded WRAP study in India and Nepal on co-production of mental health interventions for persons affected by leprosy. Other research projects she has worked on include the NIHR-funded ‘Social Sciences for Severe Stigmatising Skin Conditions’ (5S) Foundation at BSMS; the COR-NTD funded ‘Improving access to integrated Morbidity management and disability PREvention Services through Stigma reduction for people with lower limb lymphoedema in Ethiopia’ (IMPRESS) project at BSMS, for which she was the Principal Investigator; the Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded INDIGO programme led by KCL, for which she co-led a study to reduce mental-health-related stigma and discrimination through a local public knowledge and awareness-raising campaign in five countries in Africa and Asia; as scientific coordinator on the Emerald programme at KCL, which aimed to strengthen mental health systems in six countries in Africa and Asia; and on a project by the International Dementia Alliance (IDEAL) group developing an international staging schedule for dementia.

In addition, Maya has contributed to several WHO documents, including guidelines (2020) and a subsequent Essential Care Package on Mental Health and Stigma for Persons with NTDs (2026); guidelines on the Management of Physical Health Conditions in Adults with Severe Mental Disorder (2018); and the Humanitarian Emergency Settings Perceived Needs Scale (HESPER) manual (2011), which she developed in collaboration with WHO during her PhD.

Maya has a PhD in International Public Mental Health from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) at KCL; two MSc degrees with Distinction in Mental Health Services Research (KCL) and Experimental Psychology (University of Sussex); and a first-class BSc Honours in Human Sciences (University of Sussex).