Dr Thomas Cherian
Dr Thomas Cherian is the Coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunization, WHO Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals. In his former position at WHO, he was the Coordinator for Implementation Research in the Initiative for Vaccine Research and was responsible for research on vaccines against acute respiratory infections, primarily pneumococcal vaccines. He is recognized as an expert in the field on acute respiratory infections.
Before joining WHO, Dr Cherian was a Professor of Paediatrics at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India and was on the faculty of that institution from 1985 to 2002.
Dr Cherian did his medical training as well as his post graduate training in paediatrics at the Christian Medical College. Subsequently, he did a fellowship in paediatric infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States. Dr Cherian has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific articles and book chapters.