(Photo credit: Boston University/PR)
Elham Asaad Buaras
Renowned Indian-American physician Dr Nahid Bhadelia, has joined the White House COVID-19 Response Team as a senior policy advisor for global COVID response.
The 44-year-old infectious diseases expert and founder of the Boston University Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases Policy & Research (CEID) is a global leader in pandemic preparedness.
Over the last decade, Bhadelia, who is an associate professor of infectious diseases at Boston University (BU) School of Medicine, designed and served as the Medical Director of the Special Pathogens Unit, a medical unit designed to care for patients with highly communicable diseases and a state-designated Ebola Treatment Center.
Bhadeliah has prior and ongoing experience in health system response to pathogens such as H1N1, Zika, Lassa fever, Marburg virus disease, and COVID-19 at the state, national, and global levels, including medical countermeasure evaluation, diagnostic positioning, infection control policy development, and healthcare worker training.
Gloria Waters, BU Vice President and Associate Provost for Research, said, “Dr Bhadelia is widely known as an international expert and leader in highly communicable and emerging infectious diseases.”
Bhadelia is also Associate Director of BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories and helped launch and develop the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center, BU’s primary teaching hospital.
“She has extensive clinical, field, academic, and policy experience in pandemic preparedness,” says Waters.
“Her background in health and human security, international affairs, and her training in infectious diseases, coupled with her extensive experience in health system response to emerging infectious diseases—such as Ebola, Zika, and more recently, COVID-19—have provided her with invaluable insights into the underlying challenges to pandemic preparedness.”
Bhadelia brings a broad global health background to the White House position. She worked in West and East Africa during multiple Ebola virus outbreaks, contributed to pandemic preparedness in Liberia and Uganda, and co-directs the BU and University of Liberia Emerging and Epidemic Virus Research Program, funded by the Fogarty International Centre.
She is also a member of the World Health Organisation’s Technical Advisory Group for Universal Health and Preparedness Review, working to improve the metrics used to measure pandemic preparedness.
Since founding CEID in 2021, Bhadelia has grown into a hub for research and actionable policies—the centre has contributed to Congressional hearings, advised legislative offices, prepared policy briefs, and provided input on pandemic preparedness bills.
That work will continue under Hamer’s direction. An infectious diseases specialist, Hamer says Bhadelia has been a leader not just for CEID but for the rest of the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aside from her clinical training in infectious diseases, she has a Master’s degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a background in health and human security with a focus on the impact of pandemics on the macro-level health indicators and community security.
Bhadelia is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Institute of Human Security at the Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she teaches a course on human security and emerging infectious diseases.
