SENIOR Scholars

To provide our school with national and international visibility, we have instituted the appointment of Senior Scholars. These individuals are Deanappointed accomplished leaders from the varied areas of academia, industry, policy and practice whose insight and expertise align with the public health mission of the School of Public Health and the University of Memphis.

Kumar, MD Honorary Senior Scholar Global Health Expert, India

Dr. Thomas is a Senior Scholar of the University of Memphis School of Public Health. She is the Founder and President of UrbanHealth360, an organization of multidisciplinary thinkers centered on a peopleoriented, community-focused approach to urban health. Dr. Thomas is a globally acknowledged thought leader, urban health champion, and an advocate for valuing the

Dr. Kumar is an Honorary Senior Scholar of the University of Memphis School of Public Health. A senior civil servant, public health practitioner and a global health leader from India, he has training in Medicine and fellowships in Pediatrics and Neonatology. Dr. Kumar has more than 29 years of experience in designing policies and implementing large public health programs including Reproductive, Maternal, health of women and girls as an economic imperative. A social epidemiologist/medical sociologist by training, she has served as the chief of Epidemiology at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the National Institutes of Health, held academic positions at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Howard University, and also as a Vice President for Research.

Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health; Vaccines; Nutrition and Gender; Non-Communicable diseases; Tobacco Control; and SDG integration and localization. He is currently leading State and National level implementation and research portfolios at various government ministries and UN agencies (including UNICEF and Chief Advisor UNDP) in India.