A global public health leader. Mission driven, results oriented health professional with more than 35 years of experience in leading medical research, strengthening health systems, health care innovation, managing pandemic preparedness and health care delivery in resource poor settings. As a global leader he has been in the forefront of south-south cooperation, promoting equity in access to health care, democratisation of scientific research and promoting public-private cooperation to bring new technologies and affordable innovative products into the health systems.

He has led India’s Department of Health Research as its Secretary and Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research.  He is President of the National Academy of Sciences, India and also serves as Dean of Holy Family Hospital New Delhi as well as an Independent Director with Cipla. An extensively published scientist with more than 300 articles in peer reviewed journals and editor-in-chief of the British Medical Journal Innovations and of the Indian Journal of Medical Research.

His experience ranges from treating more than a quarter million patients, training and mentoring super specialised cardiologists to setting health care policies and standards and advising several Ministers of Health and Heads of Government. In recent years he has been at the forefront of managing several public health crises in India including covid-19 and brought Indian research in shaping contemporary global practice through vaccine development and describing role of plasma therapy. He has also received numerous international and national awards for his contributions to health and development and has delivered more than 50 orations across the globe. He has international experience of more than 6 years in USA, Europe and the Middle East.

Key competencies

• Leadership
• Crisis management
• Institution building
• Institution building
• Policy formulation
• Health systems strengthening and delivery
• Regulatory standards during Pandemic phase
• Capacity building
• Political advocacy
• Health research for people centred products
• Large clinical trials for diagnostics, drugs and vaccine development
• South to South collaboration

 

Key accomplishments

• Emergency response: Played a key role in development and roll out of the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine- COVAXIN in record time, ramping up the establishment of COVID-19 testing facilities from one to 3 500, development of treatment protocols and real time monitoring of the pandemic- four rounds of national surveys on antibody response
• Novel pathogen Epidemic control: Successfully led India’s effort to contain the Zika and Nipah outbreak in India between 2018 and 2020 by ensuring that protocols are maintained, facilitating innovative containment strategies and access to new diagnostics, setting multi country trials for new and or repurposed drugs
• Making Elimination of old disease feasible through better evidence: Implemented the largest National TB Prevalence survey in the world in India after a gap of 60 years that provided the evidence base for the setting up of the target for elimination of TB in India at subnational level. Also initiated the TB Vaccine trial. Set up first of its kind National Institute on Research on Disease Elimination Science and Health to lead implementation research for meeting SDG 3.3 communicable diseases on time
• Strengthening the biosafety and biosecurity in India through establishment of a network of BSL-3 laboratories, BSL-3 certifications, training and capacity building of several hundred public health professionals on laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, development of first mobile BSL3 lab in the global south countries, regional referral BSL4 lab for WHO SEARO countries
• Affordable innovations: Established the Stanford India Biodesign Centre, School of International Biodesign (SiB). This school in its ten years since inception has trained nearly 100 young innovators (doctors, engineers, designers, entrepreneurs). This has further led to development of 30 low-cost medical devices (45 provisional patents, 5 PCT applications) leading to 10 startups. Four of the low-cost devices are in the Indian market and one device has been approved by the USFDA
• Community based NCD management (both acute and chronic)- successful implementation research on door step response on stroke & heart attacks through digitally empowered frontline worker response, hypertension, diabetes management & cancer registry
• Health Technology assessment for evaluation and uptake of medical devices and products in global south settings including cost effectiveness and pricing standards
• Partnership

Global: Overall responsible for 7 State of the art WHO collaborating centres (on BSL 4 lab, novel gene sequencing, products and diagnostics, several communicable diseases)

Regional: Set up first ever bottom-up country led regional research platform for 11 South East Asia regional countries funded by the member states (Regional Enabler for South East Asia Research Cooperation on Health- RESEARCH)

Indo- Africa Partnership: Global South to South training programme: India – Africa collaboration on public health ICMR/AU-STRC Health Practitioners’ & Researchers’ Capacity Building Scheme- operational for 20 African Countries now

Education and training

Undergraduate, post graduate and super specialist medical degree in Clinical medicine and Cardiology (MBBS, MD, DM): King George’s Medical University in India

Training and Fellowship in UK (FRCP- Glasgow and Edinburgh) and USA as specialist cardiologist (FACC, FAHA)

Honorary Doctorates: Doctor of Science (DSc) from three universities

 

Selected Awards/Special recognition

• Padma Shri- India’s civilian award for contributions to medical science.
• Dr Lee Jong Wook Memorial prize: Public health, by WHO at Geneva.
• UNESCO Equatorial Guinea International Prize: Research in Life Sciences at Paris
• SN Bose Centenary award by the Indian National Science Congress
• National Academy of Sciences Platinum Jubilee Award
• The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, UK awarded the President’s Medal for Frugal Innovations at Glasgow
• Tata Innovation Fellowship & Vasvik Award for Biomedical Technology Innovation
• Ranbaxy Award, OP Bhasin Award: Field of Health and Medical Sciences
• Man of the year 2021: Week Magazine, India

 

Publications

More than 300 publications in peer review journals (Impact factor upto 38 and citations upto nearly 700 for selected articles)

BOOK: Going Viral-Making of COVAXIN: The Inside Story, Rupa Publications, 2021;

Launched at WHO Geneva

 

References

• Mr JP Nadda: Honourable Minister of Health & Family Welfare of India

email: india-hfm@gov.in

• Professor Ulrich Sigwart: Cardiology, University of Geneva (Inventor of Coronary Stent) email: ulrichsigwart@gmail.com
• Mr Apurva Chandra: Union Secretary of Health, Government of India email: secyhfw@nic.in