Dr. A. S. Pradeep Kumar is a public health professional, academician, researcher, and administrator with more than three decades of experience in public health practice, health-systems management, research, and education. He serves as Professor of Public Health at GIPH.
Academic Background
Dr. Pradeep Kumar earned his MBBS from Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. He holds a Master of Public Health and a PhD in Public Health from the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram.
Professional Experience
He has held senior leadership positions in the Health Services Department, Government of Kerala, including Additional Director of Health Services (Public Health), Deputy Director of Health Services, State Epidemiologist, and Assistant State Programme Officer for the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme. At GIPH, he teaches and mentors Master of Public Health students, drawing on his experience in administration, research, policy development, and programme implementation.
Research and Contributions
His public health work includes establishing and expanding non-communicable disease clinics across Kerala, strengthening tobacco-control initiatives, developing treatment guidelines for diabetes, hypertension, and short febrile illnesses, and leading large-scale training for health professionals and community stakeholders. His research has included statewide surveys on NCDs and their risk factors, the Kerala Information on Residents Arogyam Network project, and health-system responses to COVID-19. He has served as Principal Investigator and Team Leader on projects with WHO, PATH, Azim Premji University, and the Government of Kerala.
Research and Publications
Dr. Pradeep Kumar’s research interests include health-systems research, NCD prevention and control, tobacco control, epidemiology, communicable-disease surveillance, health policy, and public health programme implementation. He has published in national and international peer-reviewed journals, presented at national and international conferences, and contributed to public health training materials and educational resources in Malayalam.