Professor Nitish Debnath

Professor Nitish Debnath is a veterinarian, holds a PhD in Virology of the University of Surrey, MSc in Tropical Veterinary Medicine of the University of Edinburgh and had his postdoctoral training on nonspecific immunity in Japan. He started his career in the government veterinary services and then moved to Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute as senior scientist.

In his mid-career, he moved to academia as Principal of the newly established Chittagong Government Veterinary College which was later transformed into Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and he was appointed as a founding Vice Chancellor. He has been involved with many national and international research projects on animal health and veterinary education and served in many research and academic committees nationally and internationally. He also worked for FAO and Global Health Development as senior technical advisor. Since January 2020 he has been working as Team Lead of Fleming Fund Country Grant to Bangladesh.

Author of more than 100 publications, he served as Presidents of the Bangladesh Veterinary Council and Agriculturists (Krishibid) Institution Bangladesh, member of the board of Governors of International Association of Ecology and Health. He is an Associate Fellow of Chatham House Global Health and core member of the board of Governors of the Council on International Veterinary Medical Education.

He organized the first International One Health Conference in Chittagong in March 2008 and launched a membership based professional organization called One Health Bangladesh (OHB). Since inception, he has been chairing the National Coordination Committee of OHB and organized 10 annual One Health conferences. Also actively engaged internationally in One Health activities, he made presentations in three International One Health Congresses, contributed to regional One Health workshops, attended IHR-PVS National Bridging workshop, attended Salzburg Global Seminar to develop One Health Surveillance Matrix, contributed to prepare the Tripartite Zoonoses Guideline and is member of the central team of South Asia Surveillance Network.