Senior Scientist & Head
icddr,b (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh), Bangladesh
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
I am a Senior Scientist leading the One Health Laboratory and the Programme for Respiratory Infections in the Infectious Diseases Division at icddr,b. I earned my Ph.D. in environmental microbiology, with expertise in molecular ecology, microbial culture, and genotyping. At icddr,b, I have been working as an independent scientist, leading One Health laboratory activities and supervising researchers in programs focused on the discovery of novel viruses with potential human disease implications, vaccine development and evaluation, and understanding the ecology of viruses such as Nipah virus, SARS-CoV, and influenza.
I serve as the laboratory focal person for Nipah-related research at icddr,b, and have been deeply involved in large, multifaceted Nipah studies since 2010. Beyond laboratory work, I collaborate closely with the Government of Bangladesh through IEDCR, DLS, DGDA, and several universities, contributing to One Health strategies, guidelines, academic research, and the development of Standard Operating Procedures for ministries, including MOHFW, MOFL, and MOEFCC.
Over the years, I have built strong national and international research collaborations and secured projects with pharmaceutical partners as well as organizations such as ideSHi, SBAU, CEPI, NIH, Emory University, Colorado State University, UNICEF, Cambridge University, the Uniformed Services University, and Johns Hopkins University. In the past five years, I have secured over 10 million USD in funding as PI or Co-PI, supporting the advancement of One Health activities at icddr,b.