Staff Profile

Educational Qualification

Ph.D. (Public Health), MPH, BSMS

Personal Statement

I am working as a scientist-D and Head of Department of Socio Behavioral Research. I was involved in multiple Socio-Behavioral, Health Economic and Operational Research projects. I have brought in new research concepts, thoughts and have taken bold steps to initiate projects involving theories, concepts and applications of social networks, positive deviance, nudges, behavioral economics, and cost effectiveness within TB research. I have developed my capacity in qualitative research, advanced quantitative techniques and had developed skills in community networking & advocacy for TB and had organized and implemented a range of scientific and community activities for the benefit of TB program and research.

Research Focus

• • Socio-behavioral Research
• • Implementation Research
• • Cost effectiveness
• • Health Technology Assessment
• • Qualitative Research

Ongoing projects as Principal investigator

1. Reducing pre-treatment loss to follow-up among individuals diagnosed with TB through behavioural nudging intervention- A multi-centric mixed methods implementation study.

2. Evaluating urine isoniazid testing for tuberculosis disease in India to detect medication non-adherence and improve treatment outcomes

Significant Publications

1. Karikalan Nagarajan, et al. Self-driven solutions and resilience adapted by people with drug-resistant tuberculosis and their caregivers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India: a qualitative study. The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia. 2024; 22: 100372

2. Muniyandi M, Karikalan N. Economic aspects of shortening the duration of tuberculosis treatment. The Lancet Global Health. 2024. 12(6).

3. Nagarajan, Karikalan et al. Self-driven solutions and resilience adapted by people with drug-resistant tuberculosis and their caregivers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India: a qualitative study. The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia. 2024; 22, 100372

4. Faust, L., Naidoo, P., Caceres-Cardenas, G., Ugarte-Gil, C., Muyoyeta, M., Kerkhoff, A. D., Nagarajan, K. Improving measurement of tuberculosis care cascades to enhance people-centred care. The Lancet. Infectious diseases. 2023; 23(12).

5. Karikalan N, Muniyandi M, Senthil S, Srimathi K, Keerthana S, Bharathidasan P, Lavanya J, Rajendran K. A study on tuberculosis disease disclosure patterns and its associated factors and outcomes: A prospective observational study in Chennai, south India. Plos One. 2023; 18(1)

6. Muniyandi M, Singh PK, Aanandh Y, Karikalan N, Padmapriyadarsini C. A national-level analysis of life expectancy associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Front Public Health. 2022 Oct 18; 10:1000933

7. Muniyandi, M., Sellappan, S., Chellaswamy, V. et al. Diagnostic accuracy of mercurial versus digital blood pressure measurement devices: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep 12, 3363 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07315-z

8. Kaur G, Chauhan AS, Prinja S, Teerawattananon Y, Muniyandi M, Rastogi A, Jyani G, Karikalan N, Lakshmi P, Gupta A, Selvam JM, Bhansali A, Jain S. Cost-effectiveness of population-based screening for diabetes and hypertension in India: an economic modelling study.

Lancet Public Health. 2022; 7(1) :e65-e73

9. Nagarajan, K., Muniyandi, M., Palani, B. et al. Social network analysis methods for exploring SARS-CoV-2 contact tracing data. BMC Medical Research Methodology. 2020; 20. 233.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-01119-3

10. Thomas BE, Shanmugam P, Malaisamy M, Ovung S, Suresh C, Subbaraman R, et al. Psycho-Socio-Economic Issues Challenging Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis Patients: A Systematic Review.

PLoS ONE. 2016; 11(1): e0147397. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0147397

Awards and Honours

• Received Guest of Honor award for the oration on the occasion of the “Siddha an Evidence Based Medicine” at the National Institute of Siddha, organized on 29-30 January 2023

• Received an award of recognition for the Nikshay Mithra activity from National TB Elimination Program (NTEP), Tiruvallur, and the Tiruvallur District Administration on 5th September, 2024.

Research Profiles