Pro Vice Chancellor
Saveetha University, Tamil Nadu, India
A Brief CV
Dr Ashwani Kumar is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global Collaborations) and scientific advisor to the Chancellor of Saveetha University (NAAC A++ and NIRF 2024 Rank 11), Thandalam, Chennai-602105, Tamil Nadu, India.
Dr Ashwani Kumar is the former Director of ICMR-Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC), Puducherry, India and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, USA and A Professor at Saveetha University. He is a Gold Medalist, a PhD and elected Fellow of the Punjab Academy of Sciences in 2018.
Dr Kumar has rich research experience spanning 37 years in the field of vector-borne diseases and handled over 200 national and international projects covering basic, applied, operational and implementational aspects of VBDs. He was Director-In-Charge of the National Animal Research Facility for Biomedical Research, Hyderabad, India. He has 35 years of experience in Administration. Dr Kumar is the President of the Society for Vector Ecology (SOVE) USA Indian Chapter.
He was trained overseas at the LSHTM, UK, the German Centre of Biotechnology, Braunschweig, on Methods of Malaria Burden Estimation by WHO in Myanmar, the IS Global and Barcelona University-organized Course on Science of Malaria Eradication in Barcelona, and the Advanced Course on Managing the End of Malaria in Sitges, Spain. He was invited to witness vector control operations in three California counties in the USA.
Dr. Kumar guided 15 Ph.D. scholars. He has 204 research articles (H-Index 32; Citations-3274; i10 index: 55) and is a reviewer of Journals of National and International repute including the Lancet, Genome Research, Journal of Infectious Diseases, PNAS, Scientific Reports, PLoS NTD, Pathogens, Microorganisms, Malaria Journal, Parasites and Vectors, etc. and 5 granted patents to his credit. He has Written/Edited 4 books including a handbook for WHO “Vector Surveillance and Control at ports, airports and ground crossings” translated in 11 languages and a global reference handbook for guidance.
International assignments: Advisor WHO (2011-2013) ‘Evidence Review Group’ GMP, WHO, Geneva; Advisor WHO (2013-2016) ‘Vector Control Advisory Group’ at the WHO, Geneva; International Expert on Vector Control Tools for Malaria Elimination: IS-GLOBAL and Director (Indian region) Society for Vector Ecology (USA). He served as Advisor to the Regional Director of the WHO South East Asia Region on many occasions. Currently, he is an Advisor for the Health Continuum an NGO in Health Sector. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) of the NIH, USA Programme “International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research” (ICEMR) for South East Asia and the Pacific (Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea). Dr Kumar is the Advisor to WHO on the surveillance and disinsection of aircraft, ships and ground transport.
He received 22 awards including the Gold Medal, Outstanding Young Person of the World in 1998 in Manila, distinguished alumni and best innovation award. The Society for Vector Ecology, USA conferred on him a “Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding services for the advancement of Vector Sciences” presented in Hawaii, USA on the 18th of Sept. 2022.
Dr Kumar is instrumental in establishing the International Centre of Excellence for Training in Medical Entomology, at the ICMR-VCRC. He is widely travelled globally and visited 21 countries many of which on several occasions.
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180 - Emerging Dengue Threat in Indian Subcontinent and Mitigating Strategies
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
9:15 AM – 9:30 AM AST