Our Team

Born and raised in Dang, Nepal, Shreedhar Paudel is a medical graduate from the Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal. He is a public health professional trained in Global Health, a psychiatrist with specialization in community psychiatry and schizophrenia at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. Dr. Paudel is the current President and one of the founders of Health Foundation Nepal, USA. His passion is in global mental health and has been a pioneer global health leader through Health Foundation Nepal and other organizations. He likes yoga, meditation, hiking and meeting family and friends. He lives with his wife, Pratima, and two children, Prisha and Prayush, near Boston, USA. 

Drona Pandeya is a board-certified Medical Laboratory Scientist. He has over a decade of experience working in a clinical laboratory. He currently works as a Laboratory Supervisor at Clinical Pathology Laboratories, Sonic Healthcare USA. He completed his master’s and Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), TX, USA.
He has served as a board member and General Secretary in the past and currently serves as a Vice president of the board of Health Foundation Nepal (HFN)-USA. He continues to provide technical support for laboratory work on HFN projects. Drona is passionate about the advancement of laboratory services in Nepal and also supports all the projects supported by HFN for the advancement of healthcare services in Nepal. Email:dpandeya@HFNNepal.org

Sushrusha is an Attending Psychiatrist  and a Sleep specialist at Duke University Hospital. She is an  Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and an Assistant Professor in the department of Neurology at Duke University. She did her residency at Berkshire Medical Center, Massachusetts. She finished her fellowship from Wake Forest University at Winston Salem, NC. She has been involved with Health Foundation Nepal for the past several years and is currently working  in the projects focusing on the improvement of mental health care in pregnant and postpartum mothers. Her interests include mental health and sleep in pregnancy and postpartum.

She mentors residents, fellows and international medical graduates.

She lives in North Carolina with her family. In her free time, she loves to hike, kayak and swim.

Aditya is a neonatologist at Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. He did his medical school from Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan. He did his pediatrics residency from Marshfield Clinic, Wisconsin and neonatal perinatal fellowship from Robertwood Johnson Medical school, Rutgers University, New Jersey. Aditya is involved with Health Foundation Nepal for more than 10 years. He also has public health background with Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, Maryland. His interest includes global child health and resident education. At his free time, he likes to play tennis, golf, practice meditation and listen to music.

Dr. Gurung is an Internal Medicine Resident at Saint Vincent Hospital, Massachusetts. He had completed medical school at Kathmandu Medical College, affiliated with Kathmandu University.
He is interested in preventive medicine and health care delivery in the rural area. He enjoys hiking and camping. 

Jhabindra Ghimire is a board certified Medical Laboratory Scientist working in the Immunohematology Department of Cleveland Clinic Florida. He worked as Medical Laboratory Scientist at Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center, Nepal Medical College, and SAARC Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Center in Nepal before coming to the USA. He has completed Bachelor of Clinical Laboratory Science from Tribhuvan University, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal and MBA in Healthcare Management from Southern New Hampshire University, New Hampshire. Mr. Ghimire is a current treasurer and one of the co-founder of HFN. He is also a founding member and one of the board of directors of America Nepal Society for Medical Laboratory Sciences (ANSMLS). He is interested in laboratory management and healthcare informatics.  

Yadav is currently a Hematology-Oncology Fellow at the Medical University of South Carolina. He completed his medical school at Kathmandu Medical College in Nepal and his Internal Medicine residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He started his journey with Health Foundation Nepal in 2013 as a volunteer physician in Dang. He is an HFN board member of the US team since 2016 and current Deputy Executive director. He likes to travel and cook (mostly Nepali food). 

Mukesh Adhikari is currently a Ph.D. student in Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina Gilling’s School of Global Public Health. His minor is health economics. He is keenly interested in exploring the economics of health care access and health care quality in low and middle-income countries.

Dr. Ramu Kharel is an Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and practices clinically in Providence, RI. He received his Medical Doctorate from UT Southwestern and his Masters of Public Health from Harvard University. He also has a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene. He completed a global emergency medicine fellowship at Brown University. Dr. Kharel founded HAPSA Nepal. His research interest is in emergency system strengthening, building community health workers capacity, and disaster response.   He has an active social media presence (@namastedoctor) where he focuses on public health issues affecting Nepal and Nepali people. His hobbies include playing basketball and cooking.

Niraj was born in Itahari Sunasari and did his MBBS in Nepal Medical college. He did his MD in Rochester Regional Health. His future plans are to become a Hematologist/ Oncologist.

Lajja is a first year MSPH Student in Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in the International Health: Health Systems department.  Her interests are in global health, maternal and neonatal health, and mental health. In her free time she likes to read, paint, and make creative contents.

Mr. Basel has been working as a University lecturer in Epidemiology at Maharajgunj Medical Campus, Institute of Medicine since 2011. He is passionate on academia and overall public health development in Nepal and elsewhere. Currently he is also attached with Tampere University, Finland as a Doctoral Researcher particularly in the field of Maternal Mental Health. Mr. Basel has published several papers in the public health domain both in national and international journals. His areas of research interest are in the field of maternal mental health, non-communicable diseases, nutrition and infectious diseases. He was awarded with Nuffic scholarship for pursuing MSc Epidemiology from Erasmus University, the Netherlands and also have received fellowship from HFN for following PhD coursework at Tampere University.

Mr Basel’s passion fits with HFN’s vision for an overall and holistic development and improvement of the community health of the marginalized/deprived population by addressing the social determinants of health.

Dr. Sapkota is a senior and specialist cardiothoracic surgeon, associate professor and social worker. He is working as a residency senior surgeon in Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center, (TU, Institute of Medicine). Apart from leading the technical and clinical teams, His contribution was also in making the expensive cardiac surgeries accessible to the general public. He was awarded with numerous accolades for outstanding service and leadership. He is involved with numerous social and charitable organizations. He has special interest in modernization and advancement of quality health care services in Nepal. He has contributed significantly for prevention of heart disease in Nepal by increasing public awareness regarding cardiovascular diseases and its risk factors through various activities.

Dr. Sapkota has graduated MBBS from Tribhuvan University, Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2004 AD then he did his General Surgery Residency (MS) in 2009 AD and Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery Residency (MCh) in 2012 AD from Tribhuvan University. He has completed Rowan Nicks Fellowship in VATS and Advanced Bronchoscopy from Australia.

Mr Rajan Paudel, currently working as a General Secretary (also a founding General Secretary) of Health Foundation Nepal has a significant role in establishing HFN, Nepal Chapter. He led a first baseline survey in Saudiyar and Laxmipur VDCs of Dang district to initiate a first project (Child nutrition) of HFN in Nepal. He established a linkage between HFN and CMF, Switzerland to initiate a water and sanitation project targeting the remote health posts in Nepal.  He is a public health expert having qualifications of MA, MPH, MPhil and PhD (candidate) and headed the Department of Public Health and Research under HFN for three years. He was awarded ‘Nepal Vidyabhushan Kha’ by the president of Nepal and a gold medal by the Institute of Medicine for academic excellence. His area of research included but not limited to maternal and child health, nutrition and physical activity, chronic disease epidemiology, cardiovascular diseases and the health system. He is passionate and dedicated to leverage his experience to support the underserved people of Nepal for health and well-being through HFN. 

A Doctor of Medicine in General Practice (MDGP), Dr Karki, is a senior consultant medical generalist at Bir Hospital, who not only has headed in strengthening primary health care of districts of Nepal but also has headed management and clinics of community hospitals in remote districts of Nepal. Dr Karki who has sound experience in projects related to Primary Health Care, Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health, Human Resources for Health and COVID management. He is currently COVID focal person of COVID 19 Unified Central Hospital, Bir Hospital. He is a trained professional in Non Communicable diseases, emergency preparedness, research statistical software, such as Epi Data and SPSS, along with CB-IMCI and Primary Trauma Care, ACLS/BLS.

Mr. Adhikari, currently working as a Treasurer and co-founder of Health Foundation Nepal. He has a significant role in establishing HFN, Nepal Chapter. He assessed the need of the stakeholders (community people, FCHVs, In-charge of the Health posts, and DPHO) of the community in former Saudiyar and Laxmipur VDCs of Dang district to initiate a first project (Child nutrition) of HFN in Nepal. He established a linkage between HFN leaders and community people. He is a Demographer and researcher having qualifications of MA, M.Ed, M.Phil and currently teaching at Tribhuvan University for more than two decades. He was awarded ‘Mahendra Vidyabhushan Kha’ in 2001 by the King of Nepal and Tarapad Chaudhary gold medal by the Tribhuvan University for his outstanding academic performance. His area of research included but not limited to Adolescents sexual and Reproductive health, maternal and child health, nutrition, mental health, Child trafficking, migration and health, and child protection. He is also equally passionate and dedicated to serve the underserved and disadvantaged people of Nepal for health and well-being through the mission of HFN.

Dr. Saraswati Dhungana has 8 years of experience in Psychiatry and is currently affiliated with the Institute of Medicine Kathmandu, Nepal. She received her postgraduate degree from the same university in 2013. She is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Oslo. She is passionate about mental health and has special interest in adult and women mental health. She feels that HFN is the right place to engage with since it works in improving health and well- being for the most vulnerable in the community.

I am a medical officer who graduated from the Institute of Medicine, Maharajgunj Medical College. As I spent my childhood in a village setting, I am familiar with and interested in the opinion of people of rural areas towards mental health. Therefore, I have been engaging in addressing the stigma associated with mental illnesses and neurodegenerative diseases and have been encouraging people to seek medical help when they have these issues. 

Public health professional with more than 10 years of experience. She completed her master in Public Health from Institute of Medicine (IOM) and has a demonstrated history of working in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) with specific focus on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) and also in maternal and child health services.  She has ample experience in developing training manuals and conducting training to young adolescents, teachers, and health personnel on different aspects of public health. She prefers being engaged in exploratory studies focused on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), maternal and child health services and ASRH.

Mr. Madan Raj Bhatt is a ‘Public Health Expert’ working in Nepal with extensive experiences of designing and implementing health projects, specially USAID-funded Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) projects, and providing technical assistance to government and implementing agencies with special focus on women of reproductive age, rural, marginalized and underserved populations. He has also working experiences on mental health, non-communicable diseases, nutrition, health literacy, health system strengthening, and water, sanitation & health research. Mr Bhatt was a founding member and ex-general secretary of Health Foundation Nepal (HFN). He had served as a first Executive Director of HFN (from January 2019 to July 2021) and provided technical and managerial leadership to implement health projects in Nepal. Mr. Bhatt holds MPH degree from Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

Prayas Gautam is a dedicated and motivated young Public Health Professional with more than 2
years of involvement in the field of organizational management. He holds a master’s degree in
Public health from Tribhuvan University in the year 2019. He has a background in monitoring,
evaluation, and research. Prayas has prior experience working in an academic institution and
with different non-governmental organizations in various settings. His key interest areas include
program planning and implementation, leadership, team development, and research. He enjoys
working among the rural and deprived population. Prayas is currently working as a Program
Manager in health foundation Nepal.

Mr. Silwal has been working in HFN since 2015. He has more than 15 years of professional experience in business management, account, finance, and administrative works in the private sectors, NGOs, and I/NGOs. He is happy to meet and work with many distinguished personalities and experts in public health, and medical professionals. He believes we can achieve our common goals through valuable support, cooperation, and guidance from our stakeholders and donor communities.

Susagya Bhusal is a public health graduate with a strong background in research. Over the past two
years, she has actively engaged in various research projects. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public
health from Tribhuvan University.
Since 2022, Susagya has been an integral part of the HFN (Health Foundation Nepal) team, serving as a
dedicated public health officer. Currently, she is leading the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) research
project in Dang. Her connection to Dang, her hometown and birthplace, has sparked a profound interest
in working and serving the local community, as well as making valuable contributions to the field of
health.

Mr. Shiva is an administrative and financial associate. He has been assessing the Field Office of HFN’s financial and administrative operations.

Mr. Giri Raj Paudel is an Associate in Operations and Construction. He has been working in HFN since 2017.

Ms. Purnima Paudel is a Public Health Nurse and she has been working since the beginning of HFN. She is from the same municipality we serve. 

Sunny is a medical graduate from BPKIHS, Dharan. He has worked previously at Bhairahawa
District Hospital. He currently works as a Medical Officer for the NCD Nepal project. He is
interested in enhancing accessibility of health services to the resource limited regions. He is
eager to learn from interactions with those driving the field forward and from those receiving the
care.

Arun Shrestha is medical officer working in NCD Study Nepal. He completed his MBBS from
B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan and worked as a medical officer at Karnali
Academy of Health Sciences, Jumla for 2 years. He has always been intrigued about research
and community oriented program which motivated him to join HFN where there are ample
opportunities.

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Sashin Ghimire is an industrious and driven young Public Health Professional with over three years of experience in Health Communications. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from Pokhara University and possesses a solid foundation in Digital Marketing for Healthcare and Health Communications. Sashin has previous work experience at Norvic International Hospital and is presently employed as a Communications Manager at Health Foundation Nepal.

Manila Shrestha is a registered nurse and has been in the health sector for more than 6 years. She
received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Purbanchal University. During her career, Manila
has worked as a nursing instructor for several years and her responsibilities included supervising,
mentoring and leading the nursing students in both theoretical as well as practical settings and
also coordinating with different institutions proving health services. Currently, she is working as
a Senior Public Health Nurse in Health Foundation Nepal and her job includes documentation,
data management, supporting psychiatric patient’s treatment and creating plans for patient care.

Ms. Yashoda Oli works for Health Foundation Nepal on a Mental Health project in Dang. Her passion is social service, and she is happy to work with HFN and the community.

Shirish Khadka,has completed my Proficiency Certificate Level at Martyrs Memorial Institute of
Science and Technology. Shirish is currently working as Health Assistant in Health Foundation
Nepal as a Health Assistant. He has great interest to work in community that motivated him to
join HFN. He is primarily more responsible for NCD Nepal project. He is enjoying his work at
HFN and he is always keen to learn new things.

Ms. Bhumika works as a psychosocial counsellor. She has been engaged since 2018. She has worked in Maternal Mental Health and has seen a range of mental health issues, negative thoughts, societal stigma, and superstition during her career.

Her name is Bina Neupane. She has been working in HFN since 2020. She is office helper and
has been supporting HFN with her responsibilities.