Dr. G. Thangavel earned his Master’s in Epidemiology, a research degree, from Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore in 2000. He is one of the first set of professionals who were indigenously trained in epidemiology in India by the legendary epidemiologist, Professor Dr. Jayaprakash Muliyil. Since then he has been doing research in the fields of reproductive epidemiology and air pollution epidemiology. As on May 2024, he has authored and co-authored 41 research papers in peer reviewed indexed national and international journals, including 3 articles in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), arguably the topmost medical journal of the world. He has also been teaching epidemiology for various undergraduate and post graduate programs for more than 24 years now (Sep 2024). He is passionate about philosophy and history of epidemiology, epidemiological theory and methods, reproductive, maternal and child health epidemiology.
Dr. G. Thangavel’s undergraduate degree is in Siddha Medicine from the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, Guindy, Chennai. In 1996, he started off his career as a clinician in Siddha Medicine at Arogya Siddha Hospital, Chennai. Before he went on to pursue Master’s in Epidemiology, he did a diploma course in Yoga Therapy (DYT) at S-VYASA, Bangalore (Now a Deemed to be University). He also worked as a part time Medical Officer (Siddha) at Bharathiammal Vaidya Seva Kendram, Esayanoor, a remote village in Vellore District, Tamil Nadu during 1998-99, while pursuing the Masters in Epidemiology at CMC. The stint in Bharathiammal Vaidya Seva Kendram strengthened his understanding of health of the rural women and children.
He is with SRIHER since 2008. At SRIHER, he is one of the key faculties who established the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program in 2010. He teaches courses on epidemiological methods, communicable and non-communicable disease epidemiology, reproductive maternal child health and adolescent health (RMNCH+A) and research methodology in the MPH program and also guides the students in their master’s dissertation. In 2010, he worked as a Research Scholar at University of California, Berkeley (UCB) for a semester long period which was aided by Fogarty international grant. During that period he audited courses on advanced epidemiology and bio statistics at UC Berkeley. He has designed, co-designed and conducted various field epidemiological research projects funded by both national and international funding agencies such as Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR, India), National Institutes of Health (NIH, USA) and Bill & Melinda Gates foundation at the Faculty of Public Health at SRIHER. He led the research team in establishing and managing the field research sites at Kallakurichi and Nagapattinam districts in Tamil Nadu for the NIH funded multi-country LPG intervention trial “HAPIN”. He is currently pursuing his PhD at SRIHER.
Publication links:
Google Scholar – https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=13gVLgoAAAAJ&hl=en
ORCID – https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0001-9161-0338
Scopus – https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=11639809000
The HAPIN Trial assessed the potential health benefits of an LPG intervention among pregnant women, children and older women exposed to household air pollution (HAP). It employed a randomized controlled trial of LPG stove and fuel distribution in 3,200 households in four diverse low and middle income countries across research sites in India, Guatemala, Rwanda and Peru. The mothers were followed up along with their index children until they became one year old. Older adult women (aged 40 to <80 years) living in the same households were also enrolled and followed during the same period. Primary health outcomes were low birth weight, severe pneumonia incidence, and stunting in the child, and blood pressure in the older adult woman. Exposure Assessment includes monitoring stove and fuel use, conducting repeated personal and kitchen exposure assessments of fine particulate matter [PM2.5], carbon monoxide and black carbon, and collecting dried blood spots and urinary samples for biomarker analysis.
Funding agency – NIH & Gates foundation.
Role: Site Co-Principal Investigator (India) Timeline: 2017 – 2022 (Completed)
This was a field trial that tries to estimate the price elasticity of demand for liquified petroleum gas (LPG) among Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) eligible households in Kallakurichi District of Tamil Nadu, India. Timeline: 2017 – 2021 (Completed).
Funding agency: University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)
Role: Prinicipal Investigator – Indian side
Best Research Publication, in Faculty of Public Health, SRIHER
This award was given for aspiring researchers of SRIHER
Tamil Nadu Siddha Medical Council, Chennai Since 1996
Global Burden of Disease 2010
State Planning Commission working group for formulation of new policy on “Right to Health” for the state of Tamil Nadu, India.