The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has named Seattle-based epidemiologist Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay as the recipient of its Alumni Award of Merit, the highest alumni honor.
Bandyopadhyay was recognized for his exceptional contributions to global public health. The award will be presented during Alumni Weekend from Sept 27-28.
Commenting on this recognition, Bandyopadhyay said, “I am deeply grateful to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health for being recognized with the "Award of Merit". This is for everyone who I have had an opportunity to learn from and work with, and for the Next Gen of public health professionals dedicated to save, improve lives.”
Currently a deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s polio program, Bandyopadhyay has played a key role in polio eradication efforts worldwide. His work includes leading the development and rollout of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2, the first to receive World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing authorization. This breakthrough set a precedent for other vaccines, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With over two decades of experience, Bandyopadhyay’s career began as a surveillance medical officer with the World Health Organization’s National Polio Surveillance Project, where he contributed to India’s successful polio elimination and measles surveillance programs.
He has also served as a medical epidemiologist with the Rhode Island Department of Health, coordinating responses to vaccine-preventable and zoonotic diseases. Bandyopadhyay’s research on vaccine development and polio environmental surveillance has been widely published in leading peer-reviewed journals.
Bandyopadhyay holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Global Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital.
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