Winner. Scientist of the Year 2021

Meghnath Dhimal

Academic title, degree: Ph.D. in Geoscience
Fields of science: Environmental Health Sciences
Research interest: Environmental Health, Global Health, Health Policy and Global Burden of Disease
Institution: Nepal Health Research Council, Government of Nepal
Position: Chief Research Officer
Country: Nepal

Dr. Meghnath Dhimal is a Chief Research Officer at the Nepal Health Research Council, Government of Nepal, and an Associate Academician at the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology. He is also currently a member of the Global Young Academy, a member of the Research Coordination and Development Council of Tribhuvan University, the Founder Coordinator of the Young Scientists Forum Nepal, and a contributing author to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report. A primary focus of his research is on the nexus between environmental risk factors, including climate change and associated health outcomes (NCDs and NTDs).

Meghnath Dhimal completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science in 2002 and earned his Master’s Degree in Environmental Science in 2004 from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. He joined the Nepal Health Research Council, Government of Nepal as an Environmental Health Research Officer in 2005 and coordinated to develop priority areas on environmental health research in 2006. This became the foundation for the development of environmental health in Nepal.

In 2006, Meghnath Dhimal was selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore to participate in Environmental Health Course which provided his first international exposure for networking and collaboration.

At the end of 2007, he got an opportunity to work as a coordinator to organize the “First National Workshop on Climate Change and Human Health: Potential Impact, Vulnerability, and Adaptation” in Nepal with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The workshop became a milestone to sensitize the impact of climate change on health in Nepal.

In 2008, Meghnath Dhimal participated in the Essay Competition “Young Voices in Research for Health”, and his essay entitled “Climate change and health: research challenges in vulnerable mountainous countries like Nepal” was selected and published jointly by Global Forum for Health Research and The Lancet.

Between 2006 and 2009, he conducted several research projects on climate change and health, air pollution and health, health care waste management, and published situation analysis of environmental health in Nepal 2009. He developed the environmental health action plan of Nepal and contributed to developing Nepal Health Sector Implementation Plan II (2010-2015), National Adaptation Plan of Action to Climate Change 2010, National Climate Change Policy 2011. Appreciating his contribution to research and policy, Meghnath Dhimal was promoted as a Chief of Research Section at Nepal Health Research Council and nominated by the Government of Nepal as a member of the National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) and Pilot Program on Climate Change Resilience, in 2010.

In 2011, he received a prestigious German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD) scholarship for his Ph.D. study and completed his Ph.D. in Geoscience (Environmental Health Sciences) in 2015. After that, Dr. Dhimal worked as a Guest Scientist at the Institute of Occupational Medicine, Social Medicine, and Environmental Medicine, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 2016-2018. In between 2015, he has also served the World Health Organization (WHO) in the capacity of Temporary Adviser, and in the capacity of Climate Change and Health Expert for supporting Nepal, Maldives, and Timo-Leste to formulate and implement climate change and health activities.

Currently, Dr. Dhimal works as a Chief Research Officer at the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), Government of Nepal. He has worked on more than 50 research projects as an investigator on health research. He is engaged in developing health and environmental sector policies and plans in Nepal. His international collaborative publications, such as “Global Burden of Disease and NCD risk factor collaboration”, contributed to many policies and programs globally.

Dr. Meghnath Dhimal has more than 15 years of research and policy advocacy experience, especially in environmental health, climate change and health, non-communicable diseases, neglected tropical diseases, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Recognizing his contribution in the field of climate change and health, Dr. Dhimal was awarded several national and international awards, including the “Young Science and Technology Award” from the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2015.

In 2016, Dr. Dhimal received the Nepal Bidhyabhushan “Ka” Award from the Rt. Hon. President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. He was selected as a winner of the “Young Voices in Global Health” program at the World Health Summit in 2017; nominated as a member of Global Young Academy in 2017; received Mrigendra Samjhana Medical Trust’s Outstanding Young Health Researcher Award in 2018.

In 2019, Dr. Meghnath Dhimal was nominated Associate Academician of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), and a Scientific Committee member of the project on Climate and Health in Asia at the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA), and also nominated as a member of Research Coordination and Development Council of Tribhuvan University.

In 2020, he became the Founder Coordinator of the Young Scientists Forum Nepal and a member of the Steering Committee of the International Network for Government Science Advice INGSA-Asia.

In 2021, Dr. Dhimal was nominated as a contributing author of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) United Nations’ sixth assessment report and Board Member of Campbell Asia, New Delhi.

He has authored more than 200 technical reports and peer-reviewed articles in journals, including The Lancet, Nature, and British Medical Journal. Recognizing his contribution in the field of research and publication, Dr. Meghnath Dhimal has also been selected as Academic Editor of several international journals, such as Frontiers in Tropical Disease, BMC Public Health, and PLOS Global Public Health.