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"Women should gain adequate weight during pregnancy, or it would pose a huge risk to the health of the mother and the unborn child. I want to find effective ways to optimize gestational weight gain and maternal and fetal health through my work."
From a very young age, I have been a creative person and fond of writing poetry and prose. After enrolling in medical college, I realized that I did not like subjects where we had to rely a lot on memorization, instead I enjoyed studying subjects where I could find solutions to real-life problems. While doing my medical internship, I got my first taste of clinical medicine, but after a while, I felt that I had become entangled in a loop where I was doing the same thing every day and not really making a big difference. It was at that time I decided I wanted to be involved in public health research. I applied and got selected to join icddr,b as a Medical Officer at the Matlab Hospital in 2015. Even though my job responsibilities did not include any research activities and only treating patients, I knew that since icddr,b is a research institution, if ever the opportunity arises where I can do research, I will grab that opportunity with both hands. Soon the answers to my prayers became a reality when Dr Tahmeed Ahmed visited the Matlab Hospital and noticed a pregnant mother who was malnourished and probably not gaining weight adequately. He then asked us to look at the data available in the hospital and HDSS database and analyse the data for gestational weight gain if possible. Since I was interested in research and was looking for an opportunity, I volunteered to analyse the data myself. This led to my first ever publication (on the magnitude and determinants of inadequate gestational weight gain). After that, I completely shifted from the clinical side to the research side and joined a research project as a Research Trainee in 2016, and in 2018, I became a Research Investigator. Currently, I am holding the position of Assistant Scientist. My research interest centres around public health nutrition, especially maternal nutrition and health. I have worked on and led projects that involve gestational weight gain and perinatal health, growth and development in children and adolescents, nutrition-infection interactions, environmental enteropathy and nutrition, role of gut microbiota in nutrition and health, nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases, and statistical modelling in epidemiology.
Why I work at icddr,b:
There is no better organisation to do public health research in Bangladesh than icddr,b. The different types of research being undertaken by icddr,b is so extensive that there is never any scope to feel bored. As I am a curious person by nature, I feel that icddr,b motivates and fuels my interest to do exciting research. I feel that the work environment and mentoring I have received at icddr,b is priceless.
Future Plans:
In the future, I want to continue my research work in public health nutrition focusing on maternal nutrition and gestational weight gain. It will be a dream come true if my work is able to make better the lives of many mothers and their children in low- and middle-income countries.
2022 till date
Associate Scientist, Maternal and Child Nutrition, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b
2020 - 2021
Assistant Scientist, Maternal and Child Nutrition, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b
2020
Master of Science (MS) in Applied Statistics, East West University, Bangladesh
2019 till date
Adjunct Faculty, Public Health Nutrition, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University
2018 - 2019
Research Investigator, Maternal and Child Nutrition, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b
2016 - 2018
Research Trainee, Maternal and Child Nutrition, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b
2015 - 2016
Medical Officer, Matlab Hospital, Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b
2012 - 2015
Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry, Anwer Khan Modern Medical College, Bangladesh
2011 - 2012
Rotatory Internship in Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, Obstetrics, and Gynecology, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh
2011
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Mymensingh Medical College, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Selected publications:
For a complete list of publications please visit:Â https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6062-4072
