The apex health research body of the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has got a new head, with the appointments committee of the Cabinet appointing Rajiv Bahl, a senior World Health Organisation researcher, as its director general.
Bahl is the head of research on maternal and newborn child, adolescent health and aging at the World Health Organisation (WHO). Apart from being the DG, ICMR, he will also be the secretary, department of health research (DHR).
Bahl joined WHO in 2003 and currently coordinates research and guidelines development in the areas of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.
He is trained as a paediatrician in Delhi, India, obtaining his PhD in public health. Prior to joining WHO, he was a Senior Scientist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for 10 years.