Meet Dr. Soumyadeep Bhaumik (MSc International Public Health, 2016), a medical doctor and international public health specialist with a mission to improve health systems worldwide. With a demonstrated impact at global, national, and sub-national levels, Soumyadeep's work focuses on employing innovative and fit for purpose methodologies for public health research, practice, and advocacy.
As the Head of the Meta-research and Evidence Synthesis Unit at The George Institute for Global Health. He is also an Associate Editor at BMJ Global Health. Though he is a methodologist, and works in a disease agonistic manner, some of his current work is concentrated around snakebites and injuries using a health policy and systems lens.
Dr. Soumyadeep is passionate about addressing equity and understanding the structures and philosophies that underpin current research and global health ecosystems. He believes that his training in international public health in LSTM (and subsequent work in multiple nations) enabled cross examination of health systems and provided for robust learning of research methodologies ( quantitative, qualitative, and evidence synthesis).
After completing his medical training at Bankura Sammilani Medical College, Soumyadeep moved to work in a private hospital in Kolkata, where he reflected on what he wanted to achieve in the future. He decided to work towards better systems through research and worked at Christian Medical College in Cochrane South Asia Centre before pursuing a master's in international public health at LSTM.
Since graduating, Dr. Soumyadeep has worked with LSTM in Bihar and then moved to the Public Health Foundation of India and George Institute for Global Health. He works closely with multinational agencies and government agencies to inform policies, guidelines, and technical documents. In 2021, he co-led a public letter from leading Indian scientists to the Principal Scientific Advisor of the Government of India, which successfully led to a change in national COVID-19 clinical practice guidelines.
When asked about his time at LSTM, Dr. Soumyadeep had too many special memories to list. However, he believes that the friendships he built during his time there were the most valuable experience that cannot be replicated in many institutions. His advice to prospective students is to make more time for friends, as these connections will be the best thing to help them professionally and personally.