Journal of AIDS & Clinical Research

Samiran Panda

Biography

"Samiran Panda, a trained tropical medicine specialist, is a clinician scientist of more than 20 years standing. Research areas that Dr Panda currently focuses on are ‘evidence for policy & action related to rotavirus vaccine in India’, ‘diarrheal disease outbreak investigation in natural disaster setting’, ‘health of women & children in underserved regions of Sunderbans’ and ‘epidemic situation of blood-borne infections in the northwestern bordering State of Punjab, India’. He has made substantial contribution through his research in the field of public health in these areas. Presently Dr. Panda is associated with NICED and also holds positions in decision making bodies of Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and Ethics committee of academic medical research institutes. Dr. Samiran Panda is a leader in the field of HIV prevention and care in South Asia with a substantial track record in clinical and epidemiological research, intervention design, evaluation and advocacy. He has worked as a short-term consultant of WHO in the delivery of anti-retroviral therapy for injection drug users (IDUs) and their partners in resource poor settings. During the last two decades he has played a key role in supporting the National AIDS Programs in India and assisting development partners in designing and implementing evidence based interventions for HIV-prevention and care in South Asia. More than 100 trainings have been lead by him in this regard and he has traveled frequently to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, North East, east and south India and China. In recognition of his expertise, UNESCO headquarter in Paris assigned him the responsibility of leading an evaluation program on drug prevention in marginalized youths in Caribbean Islands, Cambodia and India. Dr Panda has also been closely associated with one of the largest harm reduction projects in developing country setting – the CARE funded SHAKTI project in Bangladesh. He has coordinated field study under research grants from Population Council and the European Commission. As a Scientist of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) during early 1990s, he was a key member of the team documenting explosion of HIV/AIDS epidemics among IDUs in the northeastern states of India namely Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland bordering Myanmar, and provided significant support to the staff of several local NGOs in delivering prevention and care services in resource poor and conflict ridden environments. Convincing evidence on progression of HIV epidemic from IDUs to their wives and drug-sex interface operating in female drug users and IDUs in Manipur was generated through his work in later period. In recognition of this work and documentation of satellite epidemic of Herpes Zoster following HIV epidemic in Manipur, ICMR bestowed upon him Major General Saheb Singh Sokhey award of Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR) for the year 1996 for 5 years of commendable work since 1991 through 1996 in the field of infectious / communicable diseases."

Research Interest

Evidence for policy & action related to rotavirus vaccine in India’, ‘diarrheal disease outbreak investigation in natural disaster setting’, ‘health of women & children in underserved regions of Sunderbans’ and ‘epidemic situation of blood-borne infections in the northwestern bordering State of Punjab, India