Academic Qualifications

MPH, Harvard University, 1997

MD, Kerala University, 1986

MBBS, Kerala University, 1974

Professional Record

Professor, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, SCTIMST 02/08/2006 onwards

Additional Professor Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, SCTIMST, 01/08/2001 to 01/08/2006

Associate Professor, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, SCTIMST 01/08/1997 to 31/07/2001.

Principal Regional Health and Family Welfare Training Centre, Trivandrum 1992-1995

Epidemiologist, Regional Health and Family Welfare Training Centre, Trivandrum 1986-1992

Assistant Surgeon, Kerala Government Health Department 1980- 1986

Tutor, Medical College Kottayam, 1977-1980

Honors

Invited Speaker for the Institute of Medicine of the US national academy of sciences' Committee on Preventing the Global Epidemic of Cardiovascular Disease: Meeting the Challenges in Developing Countries, as part of a public roundtable discussion during the committee's second meeting on 9-10 July, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

Awards

"Good Service entry" awarded by the Kerala Government health services department in the year 1993 for the meritorious services to the department particularly for the Active polio search program in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala.

Area of Interest

Epidemiology of chronic non-communicable diseases and their risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.

Current Activities

Teaching and research in the area of chronic non-communicable diseases and their risk factors.

On-going Projects

Indian Program Director of the Millennium Promise Award of the Fogarty International Centre of the National Institute of Health, USA on "Building the Asian Chronic Disease NCD Research Network for Regional Research Capacity - 2010-2015.

Principal Investigator of the Project "Community Interventions for Health" supported by the Oxford Health Alliance, UK. This is one of the four pilot projects supported globally: the other three are in China, Mexico and the United Kingdom 2007-2012

Indian Principal Investigator of the Project "Building Capacity for Tobacco Cessation in India and Indonesia". This is a 5-year multi country project funded by a grant from the Fogarty International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health through the University of Arizona 2007-2012

Indian Principal Investigator of the Kerala Diabetes Prevention Program supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia 2010-2015

Fellowships

David E Bell Fellowship for one year research at the Harvard Centre for Population and development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts USA 1995-96.

UNFPA Fellowship for one year training at the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum leading to a diploma in population and development studies from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 1989-90

Membership

Life Member of the Indian Medical Association

Team

The team for the project 'Building capacity for tobacco cessation in India and Indonesia' includes Prof Mark Nichter, Mimi Nichter and Prof Myra Muramoto from the University of Arizona, USA and Investigators from the Gadja Mada University, Indonesia and AMCHSS of SCTIMST India. The Indian team includes K R Thankappan, Professor AMCHSS, S Sivasankaran Professor of Cardiology, P S Sarma, Professor of Biostatistics, Yamini Thankachi, Mini GK, Sredevi S (Senior research fellows) and two research associates in AMCHSS. The Indian team also includes five partner medical colleges in South India: Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Alappuzha Government Medical College, Academy of Medical Sciences Pariyaram, Kannur, Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore and Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore.

The Community Interventions for Health project Team includes the Oxford Health Alliance, UK, Matrix Public Health Solutions Inc. and the partner sites in China, Mexico and the UK. The Indian team includes K R Thankappan (PI), S Sivasankaran (Co-PI) Ravi Prasad Varma (Co-PI), CU Thresia, Rekha M Ravindran (Senior research fellows) and five support staff with an advisory committee from AMCHSS. The partner Institutions include selected industries in Trivandrum and Kollam districts, selected hospitals in both districts, Athiyannoor Block Panchyat and chirayinkizhu block panchyats in Trivandurm districts and all the schools in these two blocks.

The team for the Millennium Promise Award from the NIH for Asian Collaboration for Excellence in Non-Communicable Diseases (ASCEND) includes program directors from Monash University Australia (Prof Brian Oldenburg), from the US (Prof Edwin Fisher), from Sri Lanka (Prof Prasad Katalunda) from Malaysia (Prof Khalid Kadir and from India (Prof K R Thankappan).

The team for the Kerala Diabetes Prevention program includes Chief Investigators Professor Brian Oldenburg, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University (CIA), Professor KR Thankappan, SCTIMST (CIB), Associate Professor Robyn Tapp, Imperial College London/Monash University (CIC), Professor Paul Zimmet, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute (CID), Associate Professor Damien Jolley, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University (CIE), Professor Bruce Hollingsworth, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University (CIF), Professor Ed Fisher, Global Peers for Progress Program, University of North Carolina, USA (CIG) and Associate Investigators Professor Ajay Mahal, Harvard University, USA/Monash University, Associate Professor Rory Wolfe, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Professor Srinath Reddy, President of the Public Health Foundation, India, Dr Emily Williams, Imperial College London/Monash University, Associate Professor Jonathan Shaw, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Adjunct Professor Pilvikki Absetz, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), & University of Tampere, School of Public Health, Finland, Professor Sivasankaran, SCTIMST, India.

Publications