Dr. Shreelata Rao Seshadri has worked in the field of public health in various capacities for almost three decades. She is currently Professor and Director, Ramalingaswami Centre for Equity and Social Determinants of Health, PHFI, Bengaluru. She was previously Professor and Anchor of the Public Health Initiative at the Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. Prior to that she was the Resident Director of the Center for Global Health Research, University of Toronto, located at the St. John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru.

Dr. Seshadri’s professional interests are largely focused on health policy, programs and systems, on which she has published numerous books and articles. More recently, she has worked on nutrition and its impact on health and well-being of adults and children; and on health sector governance, with a focus on health sector decentralization at the district-level and below. She has a regular column in the Kannada daily, Prajavani.

Dr. Seshadri is deeply committed to teaching and training of students and young professionals in public health and has developed numerous public health courses, including Public Health Policies and Programs; Nutrition, Development and Public Health Policy; Introduction to Epidemiology; Contemporary Issues in Mental Health; among others. She also developed and mentored a Public Health specialization within the MA Development program at Azim Premji University and contributed to the development of an MPH curriculum.

Dr. Seshadri has served on several government committees, as well as President of the Indian Health Economics and Policy Association, the Board of the Center for Budgeting and Policy Studies, and the Karnataka State Audits and Accounts Board.