Biography

I am an accomplished infectious diseases epidemiologist, holding a PhD in clinical epidemiology with a focus on disease surveillance from the prestigious Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales in Australia. Presently, I serve as an Assistant Professor of Research at the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. Additionally, I hold the position of Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the School of Population Health, UNSW Australia. My research interests encompass a wide spectrum, including the surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases among children, monitoring viral hepatitis, including the utilization of population-wide linked data, and assessing the impact of newly introduced paediatric vaccines and vaccine uptake rates.

During the pursuit of my PhD thesis, I conducted an in-depth analysis of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) notifications dating back to 1993 in New South Wales, Australia. This involved intricate data linkage with multiple administrative databases to assess the HCV care cascade, specifically focusing on HCV diagnosis and treatment uptake. My research also delved into identifying barriers and facilitators associated with testing and treatment, both before and during the era of direct-acting antiviral therapy. The findings of my PhD thesis have played a pivotal role in shaping data-driven policies and strategies aimed at enhancing testing and treatment efforts within subpopulations, with the goal of achieving HCV elimination in Australia by 2030.

In 2020, I successfully secured a competitive social and behavioral research grant from the Sabin Vaccine Institute. This grant allowed me to investigate and address misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing a co-design methodology, I collaborated with marginalized communities in peri-urban settlements of Karachi, Pakistan, to develop context-specific strategies to combat misinformation and improve vaccine uptake. Furthermore, I am currently serving as a co-principal investigator for a GAVI-funded project aimed at establishing enteric fever surveillance systems in major Pakistani cities. This initiative also involves evaluating the population-level impact of typhoid conjugate vaccines through the analysis of surveillance data before and after their introduction into routine immunization programs in Pakistan. Additionally, I played a pivotal role as the lead epidemiologist and co-investigator during an outbreak investigation of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid in Hyderabad, Pakistan. In response to the outbreak, we implemented a typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) campaign, successfully vaccinating over 200,000 children aged 6 months to 10 years. The safety and effectiveness data obtained from this TCV deployment in the context of the XDR typhoid outbreak were instrumental in informing policy decisions to introduce TCVs into Pakistan's routine immunization program.

Finally, my contributions to the field of epidemiology extend to more than 100 peer-reviewed research papers, which include invited commentaries, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and short communications. I have also had the privilege of presenting the outcomes of my research studies at numerous national and international forums.
I look forward to continuing my impactful work in infectious diseases epidemiology, contributing to public health efforts, and advancing our understanding of disease surveillance and prevention.