London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Educational/professional background

I am a medical graduate with an MBA in Healthcare. Prior to joining LSHTM, I have been a public health professional for over 13 years in India. While working at the national level, I have provided technical and managerial support in health need assessments, evidence-based policy framing & program designing, program management, monitoring, and knowledge management of large-scale health programs of both Governments and Development Partners. In my recent engagement with Asian Development Bank, I have closely worked as a Senior Health Systems Expert with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, on the health systems response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research interests or career goals

The health systems across low- and middle-income countries are not prepared and are not resilient enough to mitigate the repercussions of the changing climate. Apart from other challenges like the absence of strong political will, economic constraints, and inadequate expertise, there is a great lack of credible and relevant evidence which can feed into collective-global policies for this crisis that knows no border. Considering the imminent impact on human health, I am keen to study the effect of climate change on health systems and how they respond to the changing climate. By honing up my research skills at LSHTM, I would like to contribute to generating evidence which would help in building resilient health systems across the world.

Why I chose LSHTM/my programme

My quest for specialized public health courses designed with the perspective of climate change brought me to MSc Climate Change & Planetary Health at LSHTM. Being a world class centre on climate change and health, I am confident that it will provide me opportunities to learn from and collaborate with leading experts in the field. I believe that the MSc Climate Change & Planetary Health program will equip me with the necessary tools, knowledge, and skills to make a positive impact in the field of public health and climate change. I am certain that this course will equip me to assume leadership roles dedicated to advancing planetary health and combating the adverse impacts of climate change. I am happy to embark on this transformative academic journey and look forward to contributing in meaningful ways towards global efforts in climate change mitigation and planetary health promotion.