TEAM MEMBERS

Dr M Bhaskara Rao is an eminent cardiologist and the President of HRIDAY. He is a Founding Board Member of HRIDAY and has been associated with the organization since its inception.
Dr Rao is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at OMNI Hospital, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He has a special interest in preventive cardiology and chronic disease prevention and control and has served as the site Principal Investigator of several Phase 2, 3, and 4 international clinical trials. Dr Rao has a keen interest in youth-centric initiatives to promote cardiovascular health.

Prof. Monika Arora is a public health scientist working in the area of preventing and managing NCDs through health promotion and health advocacy. She is the Vice President (Research and Health Promotion) at the Public Health Foundation of India.
She is the Executive Director of HRIDAY (Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth) an NGO working on NCD prevention and control, youth and patient engagement, and hosts the secretariat for Healthy India Alliance (India NCD Alliance). She is the President of NCD Alliance (2023-25), and Chairperson of South East Asia NCD Alliance (2020-23).

Ms. Radhika Shrivastav is the Senior Director at HRIDAY working on addressing NCDs from a health and development perspective, particularly in the context of Goal 3.4 under the SDGs.
She leads the Secretariat of the Healthy India Alliance – HIA (India NCD Alliance) that fosters engagement of multi-sectoral CSOs to address NCDs through meaningful engagement of CSOs, People Living With NCDs (PLWNCDs), and young people.
She holds two Master’s degrees in Nutrition and Public Health.

Dr Raj Panda is a health system researcher who has evaluated diverse public health programs in nutrition, maternal- child health and chronic disease prevention. He has used implementation science frameworks for evaluating of online mentoring and digital health care in primary care. His work in designing and evaluating low-cost alternative care delivery platforms has produced evidence for broader coverage of services. He is widely published and has also edited and authored book chapters, manuals and education materials for health care providers and faculty of public health. He has over a decade long experience of designing, monitoring and evaluating service delivery models that are consistent with a universal health care approach. His work across multiple states has involved inter-programmatic collaborations, intersectoral interventions and advocacy with decision makers both at state and national level in India. He has been awarded many fellowships and currently advises many non-profit organization's on research, development and ethics

I am working as an Adjunct Faculty at the Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi and presently working as an “External Collaborator” (Consultancy) to International Labour Office (ILO), Geneva, for different studies in India. I have worked as Associate and Additional Professor at the Public Health Foundation of India during 2010-2023 and served as faculty in other institutions in the past. I have a Master’s degree in Economics (Ranchi University, India) and D.Phil. in Public Health (Health Economics) from the University of Oxford. I was a Takemi Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health during 2007-08. I have an experience of teaching and research of more than 25 years at different institutions in India. My core area of research includes health economics, healthcare financing and labour economics. In the past I served as Associate Editor, Indian Journal of Labour Economics (2000-2005); Member, Expert Committee on National Minimum Wage, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, during April 2018 to December 2019; Lead Consultant, Setting up Minimum Wages for the Republic of Maldives, Salary and Wages Advisory Board, Government of Maldives, August-December 2019; Member Sub-Committee on Out of Pocket Expenditure in India, National Health Account 2014; Member, State Health Account Technical Group, Government of Rajasthan; National Health System Resource Centre, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; Senior Consultant, various research projects and policy discussion, V. V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI), 2009-2011. I have published three books and more than 100 research papers in different national and international journals.

Ms. Tina Rawal is a trained nutritionist and has a special interest in lifestyle-related Non-Communicable disease (NCD) and its associated risk factors research.
Her particular research interest lies in the field of diet and physical activity which are vital for the prevention and control of obesity and NCDs. An experience of more than 12 years in the field of nutrition and public health includes association with various research and programs focused on the prevention and management of NCDs and their associated behavioral risk factors related to diet, physical activity, tobacco, and alcohol. She has been associated with HRIDAY since 2008 and is involved in the designing and implementation of research studies focused on NCDs prevention and management, engaged in programs promoting health awareness and informed health activism among the youth at the National and international levels. She contributed as a member of the National Technical Working Group on developing the School Health Curriculum under the Ayushman Bharat, formed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Ministry of HRD, Government of India. Tina also served as a member of the Children Nutrition and Diabetes Working Group, under the Kids and Diabetes in School (KiDS) project, the International Diabetes Federation, and member of the Youth Advisory Group for the UN Asia-Pacific Report on Youth.

Ms. Shalini Bassi is a trained nutritionist and experienced public health researcher, involved in designing, implementing, management, and evaluation of setting-based, multi-component behavior change interventions for schools, colleges, marginalized communities, and workplaces on various health issues, primarily on prevention and control of Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) risk factors.
She contributed to research studies and programmes focusing on adolescent health, tobacco control and cessation, promotion of healthy diet and physical activity, diabetes and CVD prevention and management, and obesity, among youth as well as adults. She serves on various Technical Working/Expert groups (formulated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and National Institute of Health and Family Welfare), and advisory groups (by World Heart Federation). She also serves as a Master Trainer for the National and State Resource Group on School Health Program under Ayushman Bharat organized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of HRD, Government of India.

Dr. Mansi Chopra is an experienced Public Health professional with a demonstrated history of working on non-communicable diseases and associated risk factors including diet, physical activity, lifestyle factors, tobacco, and alcohol; energy metabolism; RMNCH and health system strengthening.
She is skilled in quantitative and qualitative research methods, data management, monitoring and evaluation, project management, scientific writing, proposal development, fundraising, networking, and communication. She completed her doctoral studies (PhD) from All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Lady Irwin College, New Delhi, India.

Ms. Ritu has been working with HRIDAY since June 2022 and is responsible for looking after Finance and Accounts in HRIDAY. Prior to joining HRIDAY,
She worked with the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and The International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR). She has 25 years of experience in financial management, grants management, and statutory compliance. She holds ICWAI- Inter and has pursued her bachelor’s in commerce from Vivekanand College, Delhi University.

Ankur Sharan is a medical doctor and a Master of Public Health with a keen interest in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). He is particularly motivated to address Commercial Determinants of Health (CDoH) focusing tobacco, alcohol, and food and beverage industries, and inequities they exacerbate. Additionally, Ankur is a strong advocate for mental health, LGBTQA+ rights, and social reform to promote inclusivity. He is also passionate about capacity building and eager to collaborate with diverse and dynamic teams across various public health domains.

Dr. Saurabh Kumar Gupta is a dedicated public health professional with extensive experience in public health research. He completed his PhD from PGIMER, Chandigarh. His work primarily focuses on Non-Communicable diseases. He is proficient in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, data management, monitoring and evaluation, project management, scientific writing, and proposal development. He has published various manuscript in various national and international journal. He is proficient in STATA, SPSS and NVivo. His contributions to public health have been recognized with various awards, including the prestigious International travel fellowships and Young Scientist award from the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi.

Niharika Rao is a Public Health Professional and has around 3 years of experience. As a social science researcher, her core area of interest is Child Health & Nutrition, Migration, NCDs, Adolescent health, RMNCH, and other Women's issues. Niharika Rao has completed her M.Phil. and M.A. in population sciences from International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and currently pursuing her Ph.D. from the same institute. Prior to joining HRIDAY, Ms. Niharika Rao worked as a Project officer on the Project titled “Protection of Children affected by Seasonal Migration: A study in Jalna district, Maharashtra, funded by UNICEF at International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), she also worked at Tata Institute (TISS) as Research Assistant.

Dr. Mansi Gupta is an experienced Health care professional with a demonstrated history of working on Neurological Disorders involving brain , spinal cord, and nervous system in pediatrics and adults performing various roles in the field such as training, assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, designing tools, making clients independent in self care skills, cognitive retraining, ergonomic consultations and providing therapy.
She is working in research areas of public health, she is skilled in capacity building, scientific writings, proposal development, qualitative research methods, networking and communication. She completed her masters of occupational Therapy(Neurology) from Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, India.

Dr. Barsa Priyadarshini Rout has 1.5 years of experience across various domains such as Non-Communicable Diseases, Maternal and Child Health, and AIDS control and prevention. She holds a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery and a Master's in Public Health degree.
Her expertise lies in research methodologies, health system strengthening, and programme management. She is currently employed as Project Officer and works on various projects on awareness and prevention of NCDs and their risk factors. She is also involved in projects and activities of the Healthy India Alliance (HIA). She represented HRIDAY/HIA in many important International and national stakeholder workshops/conferences/webinars/meetings.

As a medical officer in the peripheral outpatient department of the National Institute of Homoeopathy, Dr. Arindam Sarbadhikari has two years of experience. He has a master's in public health and a bachelor's degree in homeopathy. During his internship, he worked on several projects with the National Health Mission in Bhopal, including the National Program for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, the National Program for Controlling Rabies, and the National Program for Preventing Snakebite.
Program management and research methodology are his areas of competence. He is a project officer and works on several programs to raise awareness of NCDs and related risk factors.

Virendra Singh Tanwar is a Public Health Professional and has around 10 years of experience. As a Public Health Expert, his core area of interest is RMNCH+A, HMIS, Software management, Research studies, Program management, Nutrition, Migration, NCDs, Adolescent health, Gender issues, ICDS, The PC & PNDT Act implementation, Dashboard management. Virendra has completed his Post Graduation Diploma in Hospital & Public Health Management (Two years full time course) with specialization in Public Health Management from International Institute of Health Management & Research (IIHMR). Prior to joining HRIDAY, Virendra Singh Tanwar worked as a State Project Officer at NHM Gandhinagar under the program The PC & PNDT Act and PMCC. Also worked as Research Assistant with Population Council of India, New Delhi for coordination of various projects in Rajasthan. As an Senior Project Manager he was handling the Project titled “7 Mantra for Health Universe: A HMIS and hospital

Naveen Kumar Pulicherla is a Public Health Professional with over three years of experience. His core interests include tobacco and alcohol control, infectious disease epidemiology, and chronic disease epidemiology. Skilled in both primary and secondary research, data analysis, and digital data collection tools, he earned his Master of Public Health from the Central University of Kerala and his Bachelor's in Nursing from Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences University. Prior to joining HRIDAY, he served as Assistant Manager at Apollo Tele Health Services, designing and managing health programs, and as Surveillance Coordinator at Jhpiego Corporation, providing technical assistance to the Government of Maharashtra for the IDSP-IHIP program.

Mr. Anil Kumar is a professional with more than 15 years of experience in accountancy, finance management, taxation, and finance budgeting for large projects.
He has expertise working with diverse industries like NGOs and private organizations. Anil has strong knowledge of finance, accounting, and taxation. He is flexible, adaptable, and a quick learner. He holds a bachelor’s in commerce from the University of Delhi.

Mr. Shabbir Khan has more than 18 years of experience at HRIDAY. He assists in the preparation of logistics, organizing meetings, workshops, conferences, etc.
He also manages general administrative needs under the project activities and maintain other office work in a systematic manner. He has a experience of survey administration in varied settings, expertise in data collection, data entry, data cleaning, and coding. He maintains excellent relation with schools, colleges, local people, community leaders, slum communities (JJ cluster and Resettlement) and local NGO’s.