Tahmeed Ahmed | |
---|---|
Executive director of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh | |
Assumed office February 1, 2021 | |
Preceded by | John D. Clemens |
Personal details | |
Alma mater | Mymensingh Medical College University of Tsukuba |
Tahmeed Ahmed is a Bangladeshi Scientist with a particular research focus on Gastroenterology,Public Health Nutrition,and Global Health. He is a physician by training with specialization in treating patients with cholera and diarrheal diseases as well as maternal and childhood malnutrition. He has been serving as the Executive Director of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh (icddr,b) since February 1,2021. [1] He is the first Bangladeshi to serve in the role. [2]
Dr. Ahmed is also working as a Professor of Public Health Nutrition in the James P. Grant School of Public Health at BRAC University. [3] He is an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Global Health at University of Washington. [4]
Dr. Ahmed's father was an economist who died while he was a child. [5] His mother encouraged him to pursue a career in medicine. [5] He attended St. Gregory's High School and College and Notre Dame College,Dhaka. [5] Later he completed his Bachelor of Medicine,and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S) from the Mymensingh Medical College in 1983. [6] He was an in-service trainee majoring in internal medicine at the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital from 1983 to 1984. [6] In 1996,he completed a Ph.D. from the University of Tsukuba. [5]
Dr. Ahmed joined the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh (icddr,b) in 1985 as a medical officer. [6] He has been promoted to the position of Scientist in 2003 and appointed as the Head of Nutrition Programme at International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh in 2005. Dr. Ahmed became Senior Director of Nutrition and Clinical Services Division at icddr,b on 2015. On February 1,2021,he succeeded Professor John D. Clemens as the Executive Director of icddr,b. [5] His research works primarily focus on community-based and clinical studies to improve nutritional status of populations particularly children and women and to further optimize management of diarrheal diseases and associated conditions. [5] He is also interested in upstream research using tools to study microbiota,proteome,and metabolome in improving the treatment of nutritional disorders. [7]
Diarrhea,also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa in British English,is the condition of having at least three loose,liquid,or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin with loss of the normal stretchiness of the skin and irritable behaviour. This can progress to decreased urination,loss of skin color,a fast heart rate,and a decrease in responsiveness as it becomes more severe. Loose but non-watery stools in babies who are exclusively breastfed,however,are normal.
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients,resulting in health problems. Specifically,it is "a deficiency,excess,or imbalance of energy,protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues and form. Malnutrition is not receiving the correct amount of nutrition. Malnutrition is increasing in children under the age of five due to providers who cannot afford or do not have access to adequate nutrition.
The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1981 by Stuart B. Levy (1938–2019),Professor of Medicine at Tufts University and headquartered in Boston,Massachusetts. APUA's mission is to strengthen society's defenses against infectious disease by promoting appropriate access and use to antimicrobial agents and controlling antimicrobial resistance on a worldwide basis. APUA has a network of affiliated chapters in over 50 countries,and conducts applied antimicrobial resistance research,education,capacity building and advocacy at the global and grassroots levels.
ICDDR,B is an international health research organisation located in Dhaka,Bangladesh. Dedicated to saving lives through research and treatment,ICDDR,B addresses some of the most critical health concerns facing the world today,ranging from improving neonatal survival to HIV/AIDS. In collaboration with academic and research institutions over the world,ICDDR,B conducts research,training and extension activities,as well as programme-based activities,to develop and share knowledge for global lifesaving solutions.
Panta bhat or poitabhat consists of cooked rice soaked and fermented in water. The liquid part is known as Toraṇi. It is a rice-based dish prepared by soaking rice,generally leftover,in water overnight. Traditionally served in the morning with salt,onion,chili and mashed potatoes or "Alu Makha". It is consumed in eastern Indian states of West Bengal,Odisha (Pakhala),Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh,Assam,Tripura and also in the country of Bangladesh. It is a popular dish on the day of Pahela Baishakh or Bengali new year. It has been described in documents from 17th century. Panta bhat has more micronutrients than fresh rice. It is traditionally considered as beneficial in conditions.
Dilip Mahalanabis was an Indian paediatrician known for pioneering the use of oral rehydration therapy to treat diarrhoeal diseases. Mahalanabis had begun researching oral rehydration therapy in 1966 as a research investigator for the Johns Hopkins University International Center for Medical Research and Training in Calcutta,India. During the Bangladeshi war for independence,he led the effort by the Johns Hopkins Center that demonstrated the dramatic life-saving effectiveness of oral rehydration therapy when cholera broke out in 1971 among refugees from East Bengal who had sought asylum in West Bengal. The simple,inexpensive Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) gained acceptance,and was later hailed as one of the most important medical advances of the 20th century.
Niyaz Ahmed is an Indian molecular epidemiologist,professor of microbial sciences,genomicist,and a veterinarian by training,based in Hyderabad.
Richard Alan Cash is an American global health researcher,public health physician,and internist. He is a Senior Lecturer in International Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
Shah Mohammad Faruque is a professor in the School of Environment and Life Sciences at Independent University Bangladesh (IUB). He is widely recognized for his research in Vibrio cholerae,the bacterium which causes the epidemic diarrhoeal disease Cholera. Among other positions,previously he was a professor at BRAC University;director of the Genomics Centre at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh (ICDDR,B),and formerly director of the Centre for Food and Water Borne Diseases in ICDDR,B. His areas of research interest include microbial genomics,bacteriophages,environmental microbiology,ecology,and evolution of bacterial pathogens,particularly those associated with waterborne and foodborne diseases. Faruque is primarily known for his work in genomics,epidemiology and ecology of the cholera pathogen,and its bacteriophages.
Norbert Hirschhorn is an Austrian-born American public health physician. He was one of the inventors and developers of the life-saving method called oral rehydration therapy for adults and children suffering fluid loss from cholera and other infectious diarrheal illnesses. It is estimated that his work has saved around 50 million people suffering from dehydration.
Abdullah H. Baqui is a public health scientist who demonstrated the effectiveness of simple but effective strategies to reduce preventable newborn deaths.
Firdausi Qadri is a Bangladeshi scientist with specialization in immunology and infectious disease research. She has worked over 25 years on the development of vaccines for cholera and has expertise on other infectious disease like ETEC,Typhoid,Helicobacter pylori,rotavirus,etc. Currently,she is working as a director for Centre for Vaccine Sciences of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research,Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). She also serves as chairperson of the Institute for developing Science and Health initiatives. Her scientific achievements lie in enteric infections and vaccines including Vibrio cholerae and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli—major causes of severe diarrhea. She has also focused on studying the immune response in Helicobacter pylori infected people in Bangladesh and the responses in patients with typhoid fever as well as vaccinees. The Government of Bangladesh awarded her the Independence Award in 2023.
Environmental enteropathy is an acquired small intestinal disorder characterized by gut inflammation,reduced absorptive surface area in small intestine,and disruption of intestinal barrier function. EE is most common amongst children living in low-resource settings. Acute symptoms are typically minimal or absent. EE can lead to malnutrition,anemia,stunted growth,impaired brain development,and impaired response to oral vaccinations.
Undernutrition in children,occurs when children do not consume enough calories,protein,or micronutrients to maintain good health. It is common globally and may result in both short and long term irreversible adverse health outcomes. Undernutrition is sometimes used synonymously with malnutrition,however,malnutrition could mean both undernutrition or overnutrition. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that malnutrition accounts for 54 percent of child mortality worldwide,which is about 1 million children. Another estimate,also by WHO,states that childhood underweight is the cause for about 35% of all deaths of children under the age of five worldwide.
Rafiqul Islam was a Bangladeshi physician and medical scientist. He is known for the discovery of food saline (Orsaline) for the treatment of diarrhea.
Roger I. Glass is an American physician-scientist who served as the Director of the John E. Fogarty International Center.
Jocalyn Clark is a Canadian Public Health Scientist and the International Editor of The BMJ, with responsibility for strategy and internationalising the journal's content,contributors and coverage. From 2016 to 2022,Jocalyn was an Executive Editor at The Lancet,where she led the Commentary section,coordinated peer review,and edited and delivered collections of articles and Commissions on topics such as maternal and child health,oral health,migration,end of life care and gender equity. She led the Lancet's project to advance women in science,medicine,and global health,#LancetWomen. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and an Honorary Associate Professor at the Institute for Global Health at UCL.
Mathuram Santosham is an Indian American physician who is Professor and Chair at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Santosham is best known for his work on oral rehydration therapy and childhood vaccines,with a focus on supporting people from indigenous communities.
Joanne Katz is an epidemiologist,biostatistician,and Professor of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds joint appointments in the Departments of Biostatistics,Epidemiology and Ophthalmology. Her expertise is in maternal,neonatal,and child health. She has contributed to the design,conduct and analysis of data from large community based intervention trials on nutritional and other interventions in Indonesia,Philippines,Bangladesh,Nepal and other countries.
Richard L. Guerrant is an American physician,medical school professor,and medical researcher,specializing in infectious diseases and tropical medicine.