Hemant Shewade MD, PhD

Hemant works as a senior medical scientist (Scientist E) at the Division of Health System Research, ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology, India. He is a medical doctor with a specialization (MD) in Community Medicine from PGIMER Chandigarh, India, and a Ph.D. (Medical Sciences) from Radboud University, The Netherlands.

He has more than eleven years (post-MD) experience in community/public health and operational research. This includes three years as a teaching faculty in public teaching hospitals and more than six years with an international NGO (Centre for Operational Research, The Union). I facilitate (as a senior mentor) in the WHO TDR-endorsed Structured Operational Research Training Initiative (SORT IT) courses, regional as well as national courses. He has mentored more than 60 participants from low-middle-income countries from Asia and Africa on public health program-based operational research. He has initiated more than 140 research projects, facilitated more than 70 operational research SORT IT course modules, and reviewed more than 50 manuscripts for peer-reviewed scientific journals (academic editor for PLOS One and PLOS Global Public Health). He has led a series of research papers on the benefits of active case finding for TB and delays and losses in the MDR-TB diagnosis and treatment pathway in India.

He is currently co-leading a statewide differentiated TB care model in Tamil Nadu, southern India, aimed at reducing TB deaths. He is also leading a USAID/JSI-supported national-level evaluation of active case finding for TB in marginalized and vulnerable populations of India

His research interests are active case finding for TB, differentiated TB care, building capacity in operational research, using operational research to improve primary health care and program performance, and community action for health.