Researcher

Dr Abrar Ahmad Chughtai

Field of Research (FoR)

Biography

Abrar is an infectious diseases epidemiologist, having more than 17 years’ experience in the health sector with governmental, non-governmental and international health organizations. He has a substantial experience of public health programs and infectious diseases research, having worked in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Tuberculosis Control Programs for many years. Currently he is working as a Lecturer in the School of Public...view more

Abrar is an infectious diseases epidemiologist, having more than 17 years’ experience in the health sector with governmental, non-governmental and international health organizations. He has a substantial experience of public health programs and infectious diseases research, having worked in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Tuberculosis Control Programs for many years. Currently he is working as a Lecturer in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales Australia. His research interests include epidemiology and control of infectious disease in healthcare settings. He is doing research on influenza, tuberculosis and emerging infections. He has published more than 65 papers in last 5 years.

Abrar has teaching experience both in Australia and overseas. He is convening two infectious diseases courses in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine. He is also supervising PhD, Masters, internship and independent learning program (ILP) students.

My Qualifications

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)

Master in Public Health (MPH) in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology and Control

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

My Awards

“Best Thesis Award” 2015 - School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW

Dean’s Award from Faculty of Medicine UNSW (November 2013), acknowledging the achievements with the potential to become nationally competitive researcher

Competitive International Postgraduate Scholarship by University of New South Wales for PhD in Public Health and Community Medicine in Australia – 2012-2015

Competitive Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) scholarship for Master in Public Health in Australia – 2009

My Research Activities

Abrar's research interests include infectious diseases epidemiology and control, personal protective equipment (PPE), vaccine preventable diseases and surveillance. He is an emerging leader in research on PPE, particularly on facemasks. His most important research contributions have been to examine the role of facemasks in resource limited settings. His research is focused on policy and practice around masks and respirators, and he has published extensively in this area. Since 2012, he has co-authored more than 65 publications that were instrumental in the development and or modification of national and international infection control policies.