Shri Vijay Bala Yogendra Shivakumar, MD
Dr. Shivakumar's professional journey is marked by a deep commitment to advancing public health and research in the field of tuberculosis (TB). With a wealth of experience and a strong academic background, he plays a pivotal role as a clinician and protocol specialist for the RePORT India consortium at the Johns Hopkins University Office in India.
In 2013, Dr. Shivakumar embarked on his career at the ICMR-National Institute for Research in TB in Chennai, where he served as a field clinician and site coordinator for C-TRUIMPH. This role involved recruiting a cohort of active TB patients and their household contacts and closely monitoring their health over a two-year period. His work at this stage laid the foundation for his future contributions to TB research and public health initiatives.
In 2016, Dr. Shivakumar made a significant transition by joining the Johns Hopkins team in India. Here, he took on the role of the overall project coordinator for C-TRIUMPH, overseeing participant enrollment in both Chennai and Pune. His dedication to managing the study and its related sub-studies has been unwavering.
Dr. Shivakumar's research interests are driven by a passion to better understand and combat the complexities of TB. He has delved into the infectiousness of extrapulmonary TB, focusing on its implications for treatment outcomes. His work also seeks to mitigate risk factors for TB-related fatalities and gain insights into sub-clinical TB among household contacts of adult pulmonary TB patients.
As part of his educational journey, Dr. Shivakumar completed a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Health Systems at the ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology in Chennai. During this program, he made substantial contributions by supporting the Tamil Nadu state NTEP cell. His responsibilities included conducting a surveillance evaluation of "Nikshay," a pivotal tool for TB surveillance in India. He not only presented his findings at national and international conferences but also conducted a comprehensive situation analysis of TB within the state. This analysis included a detailed examination of trends in TB-related deaths between 2017 and 2021.
In addition to his TB-focused work, Dr. Shivakumar has actively participated in public health initiatives. He supported the "Tamil Nadu Kasanoi Erapilla Thittam" initiative, which aimed to reduce TB-related deaths. His input on assessing disease severity and providing valuable feedback at in-patient care centers in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, has contributed to improving patient care.
Furthermore, his dedication to epidemiology led him to conduct a Shigella outbreak investigation in Shivamogga, Karnataka. He presented the findings of this investigation at a field epidemiology conference in Canberra, Australia. Dr. Shivakumar's journey in public health and TB research is marked by significant achievements and a relentless commitment to making a positive impact. His aspirations include pursuing a Ph.D. in Epidemiology to further contribute to India's goal of achieving a TB-free nation.
