Evidence for
public decisions.

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, I managed the secretariat supporting the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Task Force on COVID-19, through the Translational Global Health Policy Research Cell.

My responsibilities included preparing technical background documents, conducting rapid evidence syntheses, coordinating expert deliberations, documenting proceedings, and drafting policy documents to support national decision-making. The Task Force examined emerging scientific evidence and policy questions concerning COVID-19 testing, surveillance, clinical management, treatment, and prevention.

As a member of the Task Force’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Working Group, I also contributed to discussions on research priorities, epidemiological protocols, and the development of the national COVID-19 research portfolio.

Alongside this work, I led an early review of emerging COVID-19 evidence, published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research. The review examined the epidemiological and clinical evidence available at the beginning of the pandemic, identified critical knowledge gaps, and highlighted the importance of health-system preparedness, community engagement, and coordinated public health responses.

At ICMR-NICED, now the National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections, I contributed to efforts to evaluate the potential introduction of oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) in cholera-endemic areas of India.

I synthesized epidemiological evidence from published studies, outbreak reports, and geographic assessments of cholera burden to identify high-risk populations and areas where vaccination could offer public health benefits. This work contributed to an ICMR policy brief examining the rationale and considerations for introducing oral cholera vaccines in India.

I subsequently helped develop a proposal to evaluate OCV delivery through existing public healthcare services in a cholera hotspot in West Bengal, including engagement with the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.

In July 2018, I participated in the ICMR-NICED delegation presenting the proposal to the Standing Technical Sub-Committee of India’s National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).

The committee recommended that the proposed study be pursued as a pilot to generate evidence for future policy deliberations, rather than recommending immediate programmatic introduction.

I participated in the third meeting of the Global Task Force on Cholera Control’s Working Group on Case Management, contributing perspectives from India’s experience with cholera prevention and clinical management.

My presentation examined challenges in community-level cholera care, including weaknesses in surveillance and referral systems, inappropriate antibiotic use, and gaps in access to safe drinking water.

I also discussed the potential role of geographic hotspot mapping and community-based interventions in strengthening cholera prevention and response, and reviewed draft technical guidance considered by the working group.

I supported a joint ICMR–WHO South-East Asia initiative to strengthen regional research collaboration and preparedness for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

The initiative, known as the Regional Enabler for South-East Asia Research Collaboration for Health (RESEARCH), sought to establish a regional platform for collaborative research, shared technical capacity, and coordinated responses to infectious disease threats.

For the August 2019 regional consultation in New Delhi, I reviewed relevant evidence, developed technical background and session materials, and helped draft the consultation’s outcome resolution.

The participating countries agreed to the proposed approach in principle, establishing a basis for subsequent national consideration, endorsement, and potential implementation.

At the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, I contributed to a READY Initiative study examining global coordination mechanisms for large-scale epidemic responses in humanitarian emergencies.

The study combined a scoping review of existing coordination arrangements with qualitative interviews involving experts from humanitarian organizations and public health agencies.

We examined the strengths and limitations of established response structures, including the humanitarian cluster system and incident management approaches, with particular attention to their ability to support integrated epidemic responses in fragile and crisis-affected settings.

The analysis identified challenges associated with fragmented leadership, overlapping institutional mandates, parallel coordination arrangements, and insufficient integration between humanitarian and public health response systems.

Our recommendations emphasized strengthening coordination between existing mechanisms, clarifying institutional responsibilities, improving integration with national and local response capacities, and developing arrangements that can adapt to the operational realities of humanitarian emergencies.

The work informed a technical report, a practice-oriented policy brief, and a subsequent peer-reviewed publication in BMJ Open.