Akshay Gupte.

A physician-scientist, Gupte completed his medical training at the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences in India. He later received his master’s and doctoral training in global disease epidemiology and control from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to joining SPH, Gupte served as faculty in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

With research focused at the intersection of infectious and non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income settings, Gupte’s work aims to describe the epidemiology and pathogenesis of lung injury in tuberculosis, HIV, and COVID-19, measure its impact on poor clinical outcomes, and identify therapeutic and programmatic interventions to improve lung health and longevity. He currently holds a K99/R00 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support his research agenda.

Gupte shared more about his work, what brought him to the field of public health, and why he is excited about joining the SPH community.

What brought you to the field of public health, and specifically, to the work that you do now?

My interest in public health evolved organically. As a clinician, treating sick patients was incredibly rewarding. However, I rarely had an impact on improving health beyond that of the limited number of individuals under my care. This is something I wanted to change. Public health, through its unparalleled potential to effect change at the macro-level, gave me the opportunity to improve health outcomes in high-risk and resource-limited populations.

How has your medical training in India informed the work that you are doing now to advance global health?

India, in many ways, is a country of contrasts. There are state-of-the-art hospitals and premier academic centers that offer cutting-edge medical care. And there are large sections of the population who remain medically underserved and lack access to high-quality health care. India is also undergoing an epidemiologic transition with a dual burden of both infectious and non-communicable diseases.

My medical training and experience working in both resource-abundant and -limited settings has helped me better understand and appreciate the diversity and scale of health care and delivery in India and comparable global health settings. This, in turn, has greatly informed my research focused on improving health outcomes at the intersection of infectious and non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries.

Why did you choose to come to SPH? What made the opportunity stand out to you?

BUSPH is a leader in global health research and teaching with internationally renowned faculty, and the Department of Global Health has a diverse portfolio of exciting projects in infectious and non-communicable diseases in several low- and middle-income countries. Both of these factors aligned perfectly with my research interests and career goals. SPH and the department’s strong commitment to support and cultivate independent faculty leaders addressing key global health challenges through innovative research and teaching made SPH a natural fit for me.

Looking forward, what are you most excited about with this new role?

This is an exciting time to be working in global health. We are continually faced with public health challenges that transcend international borders. Looking forward, I am most excited about the potential of global health research, practice, and teaching in addressing these challenges. I am confident that my new role will give me the opportunity to contribute to this larger mission.