Dr Nilima Kshirsagar

Dr Nilima Arun Kshirsagar is an Emeritus Scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research, Government of India.  She received her medical degree (MBBS) in 1971, her specialized post-graduate degree in Pharmacology (MD) in 1974, Ph.D. in 1985 from the University of Mumbai studying in the Seth G.S. Medical College & KEM Hospital, Mumbai India, and her Diplomat of National Board from the Clinical Pharmacology of the National Board, Delhi in 1985. In recognition of her work, she received the fellowship of the Royal College of Pharmaceutical Medicine (UK), the Fellowship of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology (USA), the National Academy of Science (India), and the National Academy of Medical Sciences (India).  She has an illustrious academic record and is the recipient of numerous college and university prizes and gold medals.  

She worked as a Professor and the Head of Clinical Pharmacology (a department which she established) and was the Dean and Director (Medical Education and Health) in the medical colleges of the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai, Government of India and acting Vice Chancellor of the Maharashtra State University, India. In recognition of her contributions, she received the Mayor of Mumbai Award thrice and Nathaniel Kwit Award of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology for distinguished services.  

She was the Chairperson of the Academic Council, Member of the Institute body of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Government of India, New Delhi.  She has served the Government of India, Indian Council of Medical Research as the National Chair of Clinical Pharmacology. She brings a wide range of experience in patient care, hospital and medical college management, and research. She has worked in tropical diseases, drug development, drug resistance, pharmacovigilance, clinical trials, and regulatory science. She was member of the TDR product development committee.

Dr Kshirsagar started work in malaria in 1990 with a WHO TDR training workshop held in Penang Malaysia. She established a ward for clinical pharmacology in the infectious diseases hospital; worked on drug resistance in falciparum and vivax malaria; and carried out clinical trials on coartemether, mefloquine, azithromycin, primaquine dose schedules, collaborating with researchers in USA and Canada.  She was a member of a WHO Steering Committee on Macrofilaricides and worked in villages in India to evaluate macrofilaricidal activity of drugs. She collaborated with researchers in Ghana and USA on Onchocerceasis. She worked in villages and cities in Bihar, India on leishmaniasis, developed a patented indigenous liposomal amphotericin which is being marketed after technology transfer. She also helped the development of the antileishmanial drug miltefosine. She received the Vasvik Award for industrial research.

Dr Kshirsagar has worked for the safety of medicines, particularly for public health programs, developed educational material for health workers and patients, chaired the data safety & monitoring board (DSMB) for bedaquiline and initiated the pharmacovigilance in public health work at WHO.  She is a member of WHO Advisory Committee of Safety of Medicinal products (ACSoMP) and chairperson of the Core Training Panel of Pharmacovigilance Program of India.

She has contributed to education in many ways. She set up university and national level courses such as a M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Medicine (collaborating with Royal College of Pharmaceutical Medicine, UK), DM (Clinical Pharmacology, a super-specialty course), and has guided many students. She led the development of an online ICMR course on prescribing skills for medical graduates consisting of 40 modules. She established a regional centre of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education Research, USA, in Mumbai. She was member of the committee and contributed to the Medical Council of India’s Vision 2015 document for undergraduate students.  She received the Dr. B. C. Roy National Award for her contributions to medical education.

With support from ICMR, she set up the National Virtual Centre for Clinical Pharmacology focusing on product development and the rational use of medicines. She was a member of the National Committee for Chemotherapy of Malaria, is a member of the Drug Technical Advisory Board, and Chairperson of the sub-committee to review fixed-dose combinations. She was Faculty for WHO training programs in Morocco, Sri Lanka, Vietnam.

She is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and Chairperson of the Board of the Foundation for disease elimination and control, which has worked for the past 3 years on a demonstration project for malaria elimination in Mandla district in India.

Recently, she has worked on studies on COVID-19, leading a multi-centre study for the use of hydroxychloroquine for prophylaxis in health care workers, repurposing drugs, monitoring studies from alternative systems and chaired DSMBs. She is member of the ICMR Central Ethics Committee. Her main areas of interest and experience are drug development, drug resistance, clinical trials, pharmacovigilance for tropical diseases, public health, educational policy and strategies for capacity building, and malaria elimination and control.