Wikipedia

Ananda S. Bandyopadhyay

Ananda S. Bandyopadhyay is an Indian-American doctor and epidemiologist working on disease eradication.[1][2][3] He is currently the Deputy Director - Polio at the Gates Foundation.[4] He assisted with the development and deployment of the nOPV2 vaccine,[5][6][7] which is credited with reducing risk of poliovirus outbreaks.[8][9][10]

Ananda S. Bandyopadhyay
Born
Kolkata
Alma materHarvard University, Calcutta National Medical College
Years active2006-present
EmployerGates Foundation
AwardsIVI-SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award

Early life and education

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Bandyopadhyay was born in a middle-class Bengali family in Behala, Kolkata, West Bengal. His father was a scientist with the Government of West Bengal.[11]

He did his higher secondary education from St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Kolkata and completed his MBBS from the Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital, winning multiple honors certificates and a gold medal in otorhinolaryngology.[2][12]

In 2010, he completed his master's degree in public health, specialising in global health from the Harvard School of Public Health.[13]

Career

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Bandyopadhyay joined the National Polio Surveillance Project of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2006 as a Surveillance Medical Officer.[4] Here, he worked across many of the remotest parts of North-East and North India, investigating outbreaks for infectious diseases such as polio, measles, and H5N1, while organising large-scale vaccination drives[14][15]

After graduating from Harvard University, he joined the Rhode Island Department of Health[4] as a public health epidemiologist. Here, he led surveillance initiatives focusing on respiratory illnesses and zoonotic diseases, investigated disease outbreaks, and coordinated successful response strategies.

Bandyopadhyay joined the Gates Foundation's Global Development division in 2012.[4] He has led major global initiatives advancing research and development efforts for polio eradication.

In 2020, he co-chaired a global effort to roll out the novel Oral Polio Vaccine type-2 (nOPV2), the first vaccine to be authorized under the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL),[16][17] designed to facilitate response options for Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC).[18][19] He led the clinical development and field deployment of the vaccine, working with major health and research institutes around the world.[20][21] As of November 2025, more than 2 billion doses[22] of nOPV2 have been administered across 40 countries to interrupt variant poliovirus outbreaks.

From 2011 to 2024, Bandyopadhyay was a guest speaker at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is a scientific committee member and guest faculty at the Advanced Course in Vaccinology (ADVAC), Annecy, France.[23] He is also engaged as an adjunct faculty for major academic programs in vaccinology and global health in countries such as India, Italy, and the United States.

Personal life

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Bandyopadhyay is married to Sohini. They live in Seattle with their two children.[24]

Awards

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In 2025, he was awarded the Park MahnHoon Award[25][26][27] by the International Vaccine Institute SK bioscience for his contribution to the advancement of public health.

The Harvard School of Public Health's Alumni Association bestowed its highest honour, the Award of Merit, upon Bandyopadhyay in 2024.[28][29][13]

References

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  1. ↑ "Poliovirus near extinction in Pakistan, Afghanistan, health experts say". Voice of America. 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  2. 1 2 Marik, Priyam (15 September 2024). ""Inside Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay's global fight to eradicate polio"". The Telegraph online.
  3. ↑ Mandavilli, Apoorva (2022-08-18). "Polio Was Almost Eradicated. This Year It Staged a Comeback". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Ananda Bandyopadhyay". www.gatesfoundation.org. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  5. ↑ Mejía, Luis Rivera; Mendez, Lourdes Peña; Rüttimann, Ricardo W.; Gast, Chris; Bandyopadhyay, Ananda Sankar (2024-08-23). "Safety and Immunogenicity of Trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine in Vaccinated Children and Vaccine-Naïve Infants: A Phase 4 Study". Vaccines. 12 (9): 953. doi:10.3390/vaccines12090953. ISSN 2076-393X. PMC 11436059. PMID 39339985.
  6. ↑ soyeon.park (2025-07-30). "Science DongA | Interview with Winners of 'Nobel Prize for Vaccines'". IVI. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  7. ↑ "WHO prequalifies an additional novel oral polio vaccine, strengthening global outbreak response". www.who.int. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  8. ↑ Wu, Katherine J. (2022-09-16). "Polio Is Exploiting a Very Human Weakness". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  9. ↑ ""Improved immunisation key to fight variant poliovirus strains: Expert"". Business Standard. February 10, 2026.
  10. ↑ Ochoge, Magnus; Futa, Ahmed Cherno; Umesi, Ama; Affleck, Lucy; Kotei, Larry; Daffeh, Baboucarr; Saidy-Jah, Ebrima; Njie, Anna; Oyadiran, Oluwafemi; Edem, Bassey; Jallow, Musa; Jallow, Edrissa; Donkor, Simon A.; Tritama, Erman; Abid, Talha (2024-03-23). "Safety of the novel oral poliovirus vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in infants and young children aged 1 to". The Lancet. 403 (10432): 1164–1175. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02844-1. ISSN 0140-6736. PMC 10985839. PMID 38402887.
  11. ↑ "Veteran scientist Tara Sankar Bandyopadhyay dies". The Week. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  12. ↑ "New polio cases found due to pause in immunisation during COVID-19 time, says expert from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation". The Hindu. 2022-10-27. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  13. 1 2 ""Protecting vulnerable communities through effective vaccine delivery and evidence-based intervention"". alumni.sph.harvard.edu.
  14. ↑ "BBC Audio | The Inquiry | Can we eradicate polio?". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  15. ↑ "Dr Ananda Bandyopadhyay, Deputy Director of Technology, Research and Analytics in the Polio Team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation". podcasts.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  16. ↑ "Novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) granted EUL recommendation - GPEI". Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  17. ↑ "First ever vaccine listed under WHO emergency use". www.who.int. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  18. ↑ Mandavilli, Apoorva (2024-09-07). "The Pivotal Decision That Led to a Resurgence of Polio". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  19. ↑ Macklin, Grace R.; Peak, Corey; Eisenhawer, Martin; Kurji, Feyrouz; Mach, Ondrej; Konz, John; Gast, Chris; Bachtiar, Novilia Sjafri; Bandyopadhyay, Ananda S.; Zipursky, Simona (2023-04-06). "Enabling accelerated vaccine roll-out for Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEICs): Novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) experience". Vaccine. 41 Suppl 1 (Suppl 1): A122–A127. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.02.050. ISSN 1873-2518. PMC 10109087. PMID 35307230.
  20. ↑ "From Kolkata to Global Health: Dr. Ananda Bandyopadhyay's Quiet Crusade". Healthcare Executive. 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  21. ↑ "Why polio is making a comeback". Magazine. 2022-08-26. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  22. ↑ "Novel oral polio vaccine type 2 by India's Biological E achieves WHO prequalification - GPEI". Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  23. ↑ "Ananda Bandyopadhyay". www.advac.org. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  24. ↑ "Seattle-based Bengali couple challenge norms with a joint 'poite' ceremony for son and daughter". Archived from the original on 2025-05-21. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  25. ↑ "Unity is the key to fighting viruses that don't discriminate: Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay". Archived from the original on 2025-11-13. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  26. ↑ Em, Aerie (2025-05-01). "Prof. Pierre van Damme and Dr. Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay as co-awardees; and Ms. Luiza Helena Trajano and Ms. Svetha Janumpalli co-awardees honored at 2025 IVI – SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award Ceremony". IVI. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  27. ↑ "US-based Indian doctor receives global recognition for vaccine research". India Today. 2025-05-22. Retrieved 2026-03-06 – via Press Trust of India.
  28. ↑ "Harvard honors Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay with alumni award of merit". www.newindiaabroad.com. Retrieved 2026-03-27.
  29. ↑ By (2024-09-12). "Meet the winners of the 2024 Alumni Awards". Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
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