She is a Pediatrician and Epidemiologist with a DCH from Stanley Medical College, an MD (Pediatrics) from the Institute of Child Health, Chennai, and a Master’s degree in Epidemiology from McMaster University, Canada. She served for 27 years at the Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC), Chennai, where she made significant contributions to clinical trials on short-course chemotherapy for tuberculosis and led the completion and reporting of the landmark 15-year Chingleput trials on tuberculosis and leprosy. She also established and developed the Department of Epidemiology at TRC. Her work includes extensive tuberculosis surveys in tribal, rural, and urban populations, district-level evaluations of TB control programs, and studies assessing the impact of rifampicin-containing regimens. Her primary research passion is childhood tuberculosis, with both field-based and hospital-based studies. She has served on the WHO Steering Committee on the Immunology of Tuberculosis and is currently a member of the Consortium for TB Research (ITRC). She was deputed to Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University to establish the Department of Epidemiology, where she initiated postgraduate programs and short courses in epidemiology, biostatistics, and evidence-based medicine. She has also led award-winning community health interventions and founded ASPIRE, an NGO dedicated to strengthening primary healthcare and advancing tuberculosis elimination strategies.

Childhood Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis epidemiology

TB elimination strategies

Immunology of Tuberculosis

Public health and epidemiology

Primary health care systems strengthening

Evidence-based medicine and community-based interventions

Translating research evidence into affordable and accessible healthcare