Giridhara R Babu

Biography

Giridhara worked with World Health Organization for six years, during which he led the efforts in stopping polio transmission in the state of Karnataka. He initiated advocacy for Measles surveillance in Karnataka leading to constitution of Multi Year Plan (MYP) for Measles elimination in India. Subsequently, he worked as research associate for Multi Centre AIDS Cohort (MACS) with world-renowned epidemiologist Dr.Roger Detels. He worked as Special reader under the tutelage of Dr.Jørn Olsen, who set up the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). Giridhara completed his MPH and PhD degrees from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) with doctoral research exploring the association of Job stress and Hypertension. Giridhara has received wellcome trust strategic award to PHFI and UK universities for setting up a birth cohort in Bengaluru for studying the effect of hyperglycemia in pregnancy on the adiposity in infants. As a step in exploring the life course epidemiology of NCDs, he is awardedthe prestigious intermediate fellowship of Wellcome Trust-DBT India Alliance to extend this cohort. His commitment in prevention and control of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) has led to the Government of Karnataka inviting him as the lead editor in developing the guidelines for health professionals for prevention and management of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the primary health care settings. In addition, he was the only public health professional in the committee on framing the guidelines and path for initiation of public health cadre in the state of Karnataka. He also has worked in developing the action plan for implementation of National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for the state of Karnataka. He is consistently rated as best epidemiology teacher and have excelled in realizing student satisfaction. He is focused to continue the work on life course epidemiology by identifying the early markers, and thereby contributes in prevention and management of NCDs. The key objective of his future research is in exploring the role of parenteral milieu on infants and subsequent development of NCDs. In addition to the research skills, he possesses exceptional skills in coordinating with Governments for policy formulation and implementation, intersectoral coordination and industry partnerships. He is uniquely positioned to contribute at every step in evidence based public health practice by contributing to research, capacity building, advocacy and implementation. In steadfast public health career over 15 years, he has demonstrated exceptional commitment and skills in addressing the determinants of health through engagement in public health research, academic activities and advocacy.

Research Interest

Life course Epidemiology, Non Communicable Diseases, Epidemiology Methods, Universal Health Coverage