We bring you a very special inter-disciplinary perspective on pandemics.

In this session, we have four panelists of varied expertise. The discussion will provide several insights into pandemics, especially the one we are still grappling with.

Panelists:

Mr. Nadir Godrej, Managing Director at Godrej Industries and Chairman at Godrej Agrovet

Dr. Gauri Divan, Director of the Child Development Group at Sangath, developmental pediatrician

Prof. Vijay Chandru, Centre for Bio-Systems Science and Engineering at IISc, and founder of Strand Life Sciences

Dr. Chinmay Tumbe, IIM Ahmedabad, author of India Moving: A History of Migration (2018) and The Age of Pandemics, 1817-1920: How they Shaped India and the World (2020)



The session will begin with a poem recitation by Mr. Nadir Godrej.

The first part of the discussion of COVID-19 and pandemics in India will depend on the work and research of Prof. Vijay Chandru and Dr. Chinmay Tumbe. This will be followed by the panel discussion, which will delve deeper into these concepts. 

Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dSg5j9BbTVKaIoQiKLvNLQ

Live stream: youtube.com/BLiSCIndia

This session is jointly organised by NCBS and IIT-Goa, and hosted by Dr. Sreejith A.V. (IIT-Goa). This is the 6th such Public Health Webinar.

Speaker bios:

Dr. Chinmay Tumbe loves to laugh and learn. He is a faculty member of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad in the Economics Area and is the author of India Moving: A History of Migration (2018) and The Age of Pandemics, 1817-1920: How they Shaped India and the World (2020).

Dr. Gauri Divan is the Director of the Child Development Group at Sangath. As a developmental paediatrician, she  works in the areas of early child development, developmental disabilities and adolescent health. She has worked on designing a number of packages of care like ‘SPRING Kilkaari’ which aimed at supporting child growth and development of children in the first 1000 days of life; and the ‘Parent mediated intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders in South Asia (PASS) Plus’ which uses video feedback with parents. PASS was showcased at World Innovation Summit for Health 2016 in Qatar. She also works with colleagues in developing digital tools which will allow the early identification of children with faltering development so that they can access early interventions. She has been a technical advisor for the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karykram, Government of India, the WHO with expertise for autism and is a member of the Lancet Commission on the Future of Care and Research in Autism, 2019-2020. She teaches on Sangath’s Leadership in Mental Health Course and on the Case Studies in Global Mental Health Delivery course at Harvard Medical School. Gauri is passionate about creating innovations which can help support every child reach their true potential by empowering parents and families with accessible and affordable knowledge and tools.

Mr. N. B. Godrej is the Managing Director at  Godrej Industries Ltd. and Chairman at Godrej Agrovet Ltd.  He holds a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He has been a Director of several Godrej companies since 1977 and has developed the animal feed, agricultural inputs and chemicals businesses of Godrej Industries and other associate companies, and has been very active in research. Mr. Godrej has been awarded Chevalier de Legion d'Honneur and Life Time Achievement Award from: Globoil, OTAI – Oil Technology Association of India, Chemexcil , AILBIEA - The All India Liquid Bulk Importers and Exporters Association and also  Chemtech CEW Leadership and Excellence Award.  He also received the Porter Prize 2013 for Creating Shared Value awarded to Godrej Industries Ltd.  Mr. Godrej is deeply committed to the GOOD and GREEN strategies and achievement of set targets for the Godrej Group.  He encourages and supports a shared vision value for all programs of Good and Green. He is the author of "Life and Other Poems" & “Nadir Godrej The Poet”, a collection of English and French poems.

Prof. Vijay Chandru has served on the faculty of engineering at Purdue University and is now with the Centre for Bio-Systems Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science where he teaches an elective on digital epidemiology. He is an executive advisor for healthcare to ART Park, an innovation hub of Department of Science and Technology at IISc.  He was an inventor of the Simputer and founder of Strand Life Sciences, India's leading precision medicine solutions company. Vijay identifies with "Historians of the Now" who according to Abraham Verghese are a cadre that begin with a study of what is today, asking not how to avoid the perils of the past but how to maximize the advantages of the future.