Our Team
Our team of passionate and qualified professionals
Awadhesh Kumar
Program Associate
Awadhesh works as a Program Associate at the Centre for Chronic Disease Control. He has a Master’s degree in Social Work and a PGD in Public Health Service Management. He also has a diploma in Gender, Women and Health. At CCDC, he looks after all the administrative activities and field monitoring for Health Care Without Harm programs. Awadhesh has a keen interest in working on program/project management, safe drinking water, clean energy, air pollution, maternal & child health and many related issues. Before joining CCDC and CEH-PHFI, he worked for Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science & Research and Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi.
Indumathi Arunan
Research Associate (Climate)
Indumathi is working as Research Associate (Climate) – Climate for H.E.L.P. She has an educational background in environmental science and urban sustainability. Her work is broadly in the area of climate smart healthcare, focussing on decarbonising health systems (through the Health Care Climate Challenge and Race to Zero projects at H.E.L.P). Indumathi is passionate about environmental sustainability and intersectional feminism, envisioning an equitable society for all on a habitable planet. In her free time, she enjoys being out in nature, hiking, painting, dancing, composting, and looking at the moon.
Ishika Jharia
Senior Program Co-ordinator (Sustainable Health care)
Dr Ishika Jharia is a Dental Surgeon with a Masters in Health & Hospital Management. She is the Senior Program Co-ordinator (Sustainable Health care) for the Sustainable Health in Procurement Project in India, which focuses on sustainable procurement in the health sector. She also contributes to other projects under HELP. She is most interested in exploring the health co-benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation, and the environmental benefits of an equitable and sustainable healthcare system. Apart from work, Ishika enjoys spending time with dogs, watching movies, exploring nature, reading book, listening to music and dancing.
Masroor Azam
Program Co-ordinator- Global Green and Healthy Hospitals
Masroor Azam is an Environmental Health Professional, currently working as a Program Co-ordinator- Global Green and Healthy Hospitals. At the centre his work revolves around research and communication on climate change and air pollution in relation to human health and the healthcare sector. He is also responsible for expansion of the HELP network and the continued engagement with existing members on various initiatives within the platform. Besides climate change and air pollution, socio-environmental determinants of human health are his areas of interest. He loves travelling, visiting unaltered natural landscapes and reading books particularly on anthropology, history and philosophy.
Poornima Prabhakaran
Senior Research Scientist
Dr Poornima has an MBBS, an MSc (Epidemiology) and a PhD (Social Medicine). She currently leads the team and oversees all activities across projects, engaging with healthcare professionals and other stakeholders. She has been involved in growing the portfolio of work since 2018, representing the team in meetings with external groups, spanning national and sub-national representatives of government and UN agencies besides academic groups. She is fond of music, travelling, nature walks and spending time with family and friends.
Rajita Kurup
Senior Program Co-ordinator (Climate and Health)
Rajita has around 17 years of experience working on climate change policies and its intersection with agriculture, forest, water, energy, rural livelihoods and health. As a member of the H.E.L.P team her work primarily revolves on implementation of climate and health advocacy strategies, providing thought leadership on policy interventions that help integrate international climate policy and carbon neutrality concept into Indian Health Sector. Outside of work, she enjoys collecting and curating plants at home, gardening, stray dog rehabilitation and bit of painting.
Sunila Dixit
Research Associate (Health)
Sunila has a master’s in public health and her work focuses mainly on green and climate resilient health systems. She is interested in raising awareness about climate change and its impact on health. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring new cuisines, baking, and oil painting.