Researcher Profile

My research focuses on community-based and clinical research to improve nutritional status of populations particularly children and women and to further optimize management of diarrheal diseases and associated conditions. I try to achieve this through:

• Clinical and community-based research on nutrition and diarrhea
• Upstream research using tools to study microbiota, microbiome and metabolome in improving the treatment of nutritional disorders
• Field-based studies on food security
• Social determinants of nutritional and enteric diseases as well as of uptake of interventions including behavior change
• Surveys and surveillance on nutrition and diarrheal disease

• 2007-Development Market Place Award 2007 from the World Bank for project on childhood TB in rural Bangladesh
• 2003-Received from the President of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Academy of Science-Dr Sultan Ahmed Choudhury Gold Medal for outstanding achievement in Medical Science
• 1999-International Health Research Award for outstanding research and application in Pediatrics 1999 from the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, USA given at the Congress of the Pediatric Societies of America
• 1998-Best paper award in Pediatric Gastroenterology in the annual conference of the Commonwealth Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and the Indian Pediatric Association, New Delhi, India
• 1990-Awarded the Fellowship for innovative research in developing countries in 1990 by the International Health Federation, UK
• 1990-96 Awarded Ministry of Education (Monbusho), Government of Japan scholarship for doctoral study in University of Tsukuba, Japan
• President, Commonwealth Association of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (CAPGAN) 2011-2013
• Member, WHO Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG) 2011-2013
• Council Member, International Malnutrition Task Force
• Chair, Working Group on child malnutrition, Federation of International Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition 2012
• Member of writing team of the Lancet series on maternal and child undernutrition 2012
• Member of writing team of the Lancet series on maternal and child undernutrition 2008
• Council member, Asian Society for Pediatric Research
• Founding member, World Public Health Nutrition Association
• Chairperson, Drafting Committee for Bangladesh National Nutrition Policy 2013
• Member, Steering Committee on Nutrition Implementation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh
• Member, Permanent Technical Committee, Bangladesh National Nutrition Council, MoH&FW, Govt. of Bangladesh
• Member, Committee for preparing national guidelines and training curriculum for community-based management of severe malnutrition in Bangladesh
• Member, Scientific Review Committee (Development), Bangladesh Medical Research Council
• Member, Committee for development of ethical guidelines for clinical research, Bangladesh Medical Research Council
• Member, Committee for development of ethical guidelines for epidemiological research, Bangladesh Medical Research Council, GoB
• Member, National Control Program Committee on Childhood TB
• National Vitamin A Plus Campaign Steering Committee
• Member, National Advisory Committee on “Strengthening the iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (IFA) Program …
• Member, Technical Committee on Poverty & Undernutrition Mapping, BBS, GoB
• Member, Technical Working Committee on distribution of Albendazole among the 24-59 months old children
• Member, Technical Committee to update WHO Pocket Book of Hospital Care of Children in Bangladesh
• Member, Expert Working Group (Development of National Micronutrient Deficiency Control Strategy)
• Member, Technical Expert Committee on CIDD, BSCIC, GoB
• Member (Resource Person), National Guidelines for the Management of Tuberculosis in Children in Bangladesh
• Member, “Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health (MNCH), FP and Nutrition & Food Safety” Strategic Theme under Strategic Thematic Group (STG-3) for preparation of 4^th HNP Sector Program (2016-2021), MoHFW, GoB
• Member, National Strategy on Prevention and Control of Micronutrient Deficiencies, Bangladesh, MoH&FW, GoB
• Bangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), Ministry of Industries, Member, National Salt Policy 2016
• Member, Steering Committee, Fortification of Edible Oil in Bangladesh, Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, GoB
• STG Member, Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health, FP and Nutrition & Food Safety, STG-3, for preparation of 4^th HNP Sector Program (2016-2021), MoH&FW, GoB
• Task Force Member, Updating National SAM Guideline and National CMAM Guideline in Bangladesh, Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN), MoH&FW, GoB

Selected publications include:

• Dey N, Wagner VE, Blanton LV, Cheng J, Fontana L, Haque R, Ahmed T, GordonJI. Regulators of gut motility revealed by a gnotobiotic model of diet-microbiome interactions related to travel. Cell 2015 Sep 24;163(1):95-107
• Chisti MJ, Salam MA, Smith JH, Ahmed T,Pietroni MAC, Shahunja KM,Shahid ASMSB,Faruque ASG,Ashraf H, Bardhan PK,Sharifuzzaman,Graham SM, Duke T. Bubble continuous positive airway pressure for children with severe pneumonia and hypoxaemia in Bangladesh: an open, randomized controlled trial. Lancet 2015 Aug 19
• Platts-Mills JA, Babji S, Bodhidatta L, Gratz J, Haque R, Havt A, McCormick BJJ, McGrath M, Olortegui MP, Samie A, Shakoor S, Mondal D, Lima IFN, Hariraju D, Rayamajhi BB, Qureshi S, Kabir F, Yori PP, Mufamadi B, Amour C, Carreon JD, Richard SA, Lang D, Bessong P, Mduma E, Ahmed T, Lima AAAM, Mason CJ, Zaidi AKM, Bhutta ZA, Kosek M, Guerrant RL, Gottlieb M,Miller M, Kang G, Houpt ER, and The MAL-ED Network Investigators. Pathogen-specific burdens of community diarrhoea in developing countries: a multisite birth cohort study (MAL-ED). Lancet Glob Health 2015 Jul 20. [Epub ahead of print]
• Christian P, Shaikh S, Shamim AA, Mehra S, Wu L, Mitra M, Ali H, Merrill RD, Choudhury N,Parveen M, Fuli RD, Hossain MI,Islam MM,Klemm R, Schulze K, Labrique A, de Pee S, Ahmed T,West KP, Jr. Effect of fortified complementary food supplementation on child growth in rural Bangladesh: a cluster-randomized trial. Int J Epidemiol 2015 Aug 14.
• Ahmed T, Auble D, Berkley JA, Black R, Ahern PP, Hossain M, Hsieh A, Ireen S, Arabi M, Gordon JI. An evolving perspective about the origins of childhood undernutrition and nutritional interventions that includes the gut microbiome. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2014 Aug 12. [Epub ahead of print]
• Ahmed  T, Choudhury  N, Hossain I, Tangsuphoom  N, Islam MM, de Pee  S, Steiger  G, Fuli  R, Sarker SA, Parveen  M, West KP, Christian  P. Development and acceptability testing of ready-to-use supplementary food made from locally available food ingredients in Bangladesh. BMC Pediatr 2014 Jun 27;14:164.
• Subramanian S, Huq S, Yatsunenko T, Haque R, Mahfuz M, Alam MA, Benezra A, DeStefano J, Meier MF, Muegge BD, Barratt MJ, VanArendonk LG, Zhang Q, Province MA, Petri WA Jr, Ahmed T, Gordon JI. Persistent gut microbiota immaturity in malnourished Bangladeshi children. Nature 2014 doi:10.1038/nature13421.
• Hsiao A, Ahmed AMS, Subramanian S, Griffin NW, Drewry LL, Petri WA Jr.,  Haque R, Ahmed T, Gordon JI. Members of the human gut microbiota involved in recovery from Vibrio cholerae infection. Nature 2014 Sep 17. [Epub ahead of print]
• Ahmed T, Hossain M, Mahfuz M, Choudhury N, et al. Severe acute malnutrition in Asia. Food Nutr Bull 2014 Jun;35:14S-26S.
• Ahmed T, Mahfuz M, Islam M, Hossain M, et al. The MAL-ED Cohort Study in Mirpur, Bangladesh. Clin Infect Dis 2014;59 (Suppl 4):S280-6