Dr Varalakshmi Chandra Sekaran

Associate Professor, MPH Programme

Coordinator - MPH Programme & IRC, PSPH

Department of Global Health Policy and Governance

CURRENT ACADEMIC ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

    • Teaching Masters of Public Health courses
    • Lesson planning, syllabus revision, evaluation
    • Mentoring postgraduate and undergraduate students in their research endeavours
    • Supervisor/Co-supervisor to PhD students and member of Doctoral Advisory Committee
    • Publishing scientific papers in international and national peer-reviewed journals
    • PI/Co-PI on national and international research grants
    • Committee Member of KMC KH IEC
    • Resource person on national and international platforms 

SUBJECTS CURRENTLY TEACHING

Subject Semester / Year
Applied Epidemiology Year 1 - Block 2
Research Methodology: Data Collection and Management Year 1 - Block 3
Clinical research and ethics Year 1 - Block 6

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

Degree Specialisation Institute Year of passing
PhD Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal 2020
MPH (Master of Public Health) Epidemiology Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam 2005
MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) Mysore Medical College 2000

Experience

Institution / Organisation Designation Role Tenure
Dept of Health Policy, Prasanna School of Public Health, MAHE Associate Professor April 2023 - Current
Dept of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Assistant Professor May 2020 to April 2023
Dept of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Senior Lecturer November 2018 to May 2020
Dept of Community Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Lecturer October 2012 to October 2018

Name of the Project

Role

Funding Agency

Year

SPARC

Co-Investigator

MHRD, Government of India

2023

Bridging education and adolescent mental health – An initiative on teachers’ mental health literacy

Principal Investigator

ICMR, Government of India

2016

The world through the eyes of the adolescent: A photovoice exploration

Principal Investigator

TCQM, MAHE, Manipal

2016-2017

Parenting and its influence on adolescent behaviors in Udupi taluk

Principal Investigator

 

2016-2020

AREAS OF INTEREST, EXPERTISE AND RESEARCH

Area of Interest

Adolescent Mental Health, School Mental Health, Implementation Research

Area of Research

Epidemiology of Mental Health/ Adolescent Mental Health, Program Evaluation, Operational and Implementation Research

Professional Affiliations & Contributions

Global health and Humanitarian Medicine,  Manipal Academy of Higher Education in collaboration with Medecins Sans Frontieres

MAHE Coordinator

 

August 2023 - Current

Committee Member, Institutional Ethics Committee, KMC KH-IEC

 

 

 

August 2018 – Current