Director/Professional/GSS Staffs

He was working as Director, National Health Training Centre, MoHP , Kathmandu, Nepal before he joined the STAC. where he was responsible for overseeing all health training activities at the federal, provincial and local through appropriate and quality training needs assessment, training delivery, monitoring, evaluation, post training follows up and research.

Dr. Bhattachan have more than 20 years of experience in the field of applied epidemiology and more than 5 years in the field of clinical Development of Enteric Vaccines. He served at different positions, under the Ministry of Health and Populations (MoHP), Government of Nepal. Through his many public health commitments, he has actively contributed to the strengthening of the health systems in Nepal, Bangladesh, South Korea, Rwanda, India, and Pakistan.

Dr. Bhattachan was Chief Public Health Administrator in the Ministry of Health and Population. He showed aptitude and effectiveness in a range of leadership positions as the director of the Vector Borne Diseases Research and Training Center (VBDRTC), the National Center for AIDS and STI Control (NCASC), the National Tuberculosis Control Center (NTCC), and most recently the National Health Training Center (NHTC). In addition, Dr. Bhattachan did a fantastic job as the Province Health Secretary at the MOH in Koshi Province.

Dr. Rabeya Sultana joined the SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre (STAC) as Deputy Director on 6 October 2025. In this role, she leads and supports the planning, coordination, and implementation of technical and programmatic initiatives on tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS across SAARC Member States, while also contributing to institutional governance and regional collaboration.

She brings over 12 years of experience in field epidemiology and public health surveillance, with strong technical expertise in tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), molecular epidemiology, global disease detection and response, health systems strengthening, and operational research.

Dr. Sultana holds an MBBS degree, along with Masters in Virology and Field Epidemiology. She is a graduate of the Advanced Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), Bangladesh supported by the US-CDC and a Fleming Fellow in One Health AMR. A member of the Bangladesh Civil Service, she has been serving under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of Bangladesh, since 2006.

In her current capacity, she plays a key role in advancing evidence-based policy development, strengthening technical capacity, and fostering coordinated regional responses to tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS across the SAARC region.

Dr.Samita Adhikary

Research Officer

She has practical experience in research and field epidemiology. She has served as a sub-investigator and study coordinator in several vaccine clinical trials and as a field officer in tuberculosis prevalence survey of Nepal. Her responsibilities have included field coordination, supervision of data collection teams, quality assurance, participant follow up and support to data management and reporting.

Dr. Adhikary holds an MD in Community Medicine and has technical interests in tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, epidemiology and health system strengthening. In her current role at STAC she contributes to development of technical reports and concept notes, maintenance of regional information systems, support to research, monitoring, and knowledge generation activities aimed at strengthening regional responses to tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Kezang Dorji

Epidemiologist

Dr. Dorji also plays a key role in capacity building by organizing and delivering training for health professionals on tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS epidemiology. He provides technical support to the SAARC Regional Tuberculosis Centre and other collaborating institutions, and contributes to strengthening regional information systems, research, monitoring, and knowledge generation to enhance the regional response to TB and HIV/AIDS.

Prior to joining STAC, Dr. Dorji served as a Public Health Specialist and Chief Medical Officer  in Bhutan. He has close to two decades of experience in district and regional health systems. He was a member of Technical Advisory Group, Ministry of Health, Bhutan on infectious diseases. His expertise spans epidemiology, zoonoses, One Health, and public health policy and management. He has led multiple disease outbreak investigations and contributed to the development of national guidelines on zoonotic and other infectious diseases. He has strong practical experience in both research and field epidemiology.

Dr. Dorji holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from India (2006), a Master of Public Health, and a One Health Epidemiology Fellowship from Massey University, New Zealand. He is also an alumnus of Emory University, Atlanta, USA, where he completed a fellowship in infectious and contagious diseases.

Admin Officer, GSS-I