Faculty

Non-communicable diseases and community-based intervention

1. ACEME — a peer-led community empowerment and health system strengthening programme for diabetes and hypertension management in rural India
2. Assessment of blood sugar fluctuations using continuous glucose monitoring among community members with type-2 diabetes in rural Karnataka, with analysis of associated lifestyle factors. Supported by the Almond Board of California.
3. Monitoring and evaluation lead for a multi-centric community-based intervention for diabetes and hypertension management at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, and Udaipur, Rajasthan — HealthRise India Transition Grant, funded by the Medtronic Foundation.
4. Principal Investigator for Bengaluru Urban district in an assessment of the preparedness of public and private health facilities to provide continuum-of-care services for diabetes and hypertension across 19 districts of India, in association with ICMR-NCDIR and the WHO India Office.
5. Health-seeking behaviour, self-care practices, and experiences within a community-led peer-support group among people diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension in rural Karnataka.
6. Effectiveness of a community-based physical activity programme in changing the physical activity profile of a rural community - a feasibility study, Vellore.
7. Member of the WHO team for the evaluation of the state NCD programme by the Government of Kerala conducted by Department of Community Health, CMC Vellore.

Health systems and workforce capacity building

1. Training needs assessment and development of a competency framework on techno-managerial skills for public sector healthcare providers in Meghalaya (MHSSP), in collaboration with the Government of Meghalaya and supported by the World Bank.
2. Effectiveness of a hybrid capacity-building programme for community health workers on common primary care medications in rural Karnataka. Supported by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka.
3. State action plan for bio-medical and vaccine waste management, developed with district-level administrators and staff through district workshops in Maharashtra - WHO India Office.
4. Author of three courses on the flexi-learning and capacity building mobile application developed at RICPHI: COVID-19: Essential Facts and Updates, Basic Understanding of Common Primary Care Medications, and Basic Course in Preventive Cardiology.

COVID-19 and post-COVID health

1. Establishment of a population-based registry of COVID-19 cases with follow-up for post-COVID sequelae and its determinants in urban and rural Karnataka. Funded by ICMR.
2. Clinico-epidemiological profile of psychological morbidities among COVID-19 survivors in the rural field practice areas of a medical college, Bengaluru.
3. Psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on caregivers of high-risk children in urban and peri-urban Bengaluru.

Tuberculosis, ageing, and other community health research

1. A prospective study on treatment outcomes and their determinants among new smear-positive drug-sensitive pulmonary TB cases on daily regimen in the BBMP area.
2. Digital and health literacy and their determinants among the geriatric population in urban and rural Karnataka.
3. Preferred places for ageing among pre-elderly and elderly populations in rural and urban Karnataka.
4. Awareness, attitudes, and vaccine hesitancy towards HPV vaccination among female high school students and their guardians.

• A chapter titled “Public Health response to COVID-19 pandemic in India and Kenya – a health systems perspective” in the published edition of a book titled “COVID-19: Many Facets and Dimensions” A multi-disciplinary compendium of current evidence and experience. Available at: Ram, Ananth; Kumar, Nanda; Isaac, Arjunan; Chaudhury, Nayanjeet; Jayanna, Krishnamurthy; Mohammed, Rukiya; et al. (2021): Public health response to COVID-19 pandemic in India and Kenya - a health systems perspective. figshare. Book. Click Here

• Best Poster Presentation, National Conference of the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSMCON 2025), Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, April 2025.
• Power Walk, an experiential and reflective teaching method to explore systemic social determinants of health, was selected by the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine as one of the top five teaching practices in Community Medicine in India, 2025.
• Best Oral Presentation Award (Faculty), State Conference of the Karnataka Association of Community Health (KACHCON 2024), JSS Medical College, Mysuru, November 2024.
• First place, poster presentation, National Conference of the Epidemiological Foundation of India (EFICON 2023), Goa Medical College, Bambolim, October 2023.
• First prize, poster presentation, 7th Annual Research Day Programme, Christian Medical College, Vellore, October 2016.
• Special Appreciation Award for work in the field of public health, conferred by Dr. Ashwath Narayan, former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, and Shri Sadananda Gowda, former Chief Minister of Karnataka and former Member of Parliament, Bengaluru North, February 2020.
• Executive Committee Member (2026–29), Karnataka Association of Community Health (KACH)
• Board Member, Board of Directors, Bengaluru Chapter, Physicians Association for Nutrition – India (2026–2030)

1. Ravindra N, Shivaraj NS, Ram A, Shafei AA, Sastry NKB. A transdisciplinary assessment of age-friendly cities and communities in Bengaluru Urban, India: towards a healthy aging framework. Health Care Management Review. 2026;51(3S):S34–41. doi: 10.1097/HMR.0000000000000485
2. Deshpande A, Ram A, Shanmugam R, Kumar K, Munimada M, Chaudhury N. Evaluation of a synchronous training program on common primary care medications for community health workers in Karnataka, India. BMC Health Services Research. 2026;26(1):250. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-13754-x
3. Srinivas V, Urs V, N SK, Arora NK, Raghav P, Das S, et al. Preparedness of public and private health facilities for management of diabetes and hypertension in 19 districts in India. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2025;161(4):327–35. doi: 10.25259/IJMR_755_2024
4. Gupta P, Sagarkar AR, Ram A, Devi R, Chandhiok N, Chaudhury N, Nooyi SC. Enhancing diabetes and hypertension management in rural India through a peer support program: evaluating a community-based intervention using the RE-AIM framework. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. 2025;12(5):1986–95. doi: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20251018
5. Shivamadhu S, Ram VA, Singh H, Raj MP, Thyagaraj V. Long-term cognitive impairment, psychological disorders, and functional limitations in COVID-19 survivors: a 2-year follow-up at a tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru. Archives of Mental Health. 2025. doi: 10.4103/amh.amh_168_24
6. Divakar M, Ram A, Lalitha K. Incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and their determinants among sputum-positive pulmonary TB patients in a metropolitan area, Bengaluru: a prospective study. National Journal of Community Medicine. 2023;14(10):628–34. doi: 10.55489/njcm.141020233057
7. Manasa D, Lalitha K, Ananth Ram, Shivaraj NS. Weight changes and its determinants among sputum-positive pulmonary TB patients in Bengaluru — a prospective study. RGUHS National Journal of Public Health. 2022;7(1):10–16. doi: 10.26463/rnjph.7_1_4
8. Ram A, Victor CP, Christy H, Hembrom S, Cherian AG, Mohan VR. Domestic violence and its determinants among 15–49-year-old women in a rural block in South India. Indian Journal of Community Medicine. 2019;44:362–7. doi: 10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_84_19

Book chapter

• Ram A, Kumar N, Isaac A, Chaudhury N, Jayanna K, Mohammed R, et al. Public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in India and Kenya — a health systems perspective. In: COVID-19: Many Facets and Dimensions — A Multi-disciplinary Compendium of Current Evidence and Experience. 2021. doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.16610734.v1

• Lifetime member of Indian Association Preventive and Social Medicine – 7128
• Lifetime member of Indian Public Health Association – L/2019/KAR/8226
• Lifetime member of Epidemiology Foundation of India – 04527
• Lifetime member of World NCD Federation – L-0278
• Lifetime member of Karnataka Association of Community Health - 845