Ramya Pinnamaneni
Director
Dr. Pinnamaneni is a public health researcher and physician with over 10 years of experience in maternal, child and adolescent health, social and behavioral change, health communication, and health equity. Dr. Pinnamaneni holds an MBBS from Lady Hardinge Medical College, India, and an MPH from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she worked for seven years. Her expertise lies in evidence synthesis, and translating research to policy and practice, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Her work includes developing recommendations for India’s National Nutrition Mission, building public agenda and policy support for public health in India, designing adolescent wellbeing studies and building a COVID communication toolkit. Dr Pinnamaneni has authored an e-book (released by the MoWCD), book chapters, articles in leading newspapers and scientific publications.
MPH (Global Health)- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health MBBS- Lady Hardinge Medical College
Research Interests
RMNCH+A, SBCC, Health Equity, Research Translation
Awards & Honours
Presidential Scholar (Harvard University) Seed for Change Winner (Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute)
1. Dhawan D, McCloud R, Pinnamaneni R, et al. Communication and Social Determinants of Cancer Preventive Behaviors in Adolescents From Low Socio-Economic Backgrounds in India: A Cross-Sectional Study. Cancer Control. 2024;31.doi:10.1177/10732748241255538
2. Dhawan D, Pinnamaneni R, Viswanath K. Association between mass media exposure and infant and young child feeding practices in India: a cross-sectional study. Sci Rep. 2023 Nov 7;13(1):19353. doi: 0.1038/s41598-023-46734-4. PMID: 37935737; PMCID:PMC10630397.
3. Dhawan D, Bekalu M, Pinnamaneni R, McCloud R, Viswanath K. COVID-19 News and Misinformation: Do They Matter for Public Health Prevention? Journal of Health Communication. 2021 Dec 6;26:11, 799-808, DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2021.2010841
4. Viswanath K, Bekalu M, Dhawan D, Pinnamaneni R, Lang J, McLoud R. Individual and social determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. BMC Public Health. 2021 Apr 28;21(1):818. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10862-1. PMID: 33910558; PMCID: PMC8081000.
5. Bekalu MA, Dhawan D, McCloud R, Pinnamaneni R, Viswanath K. Adherence to COVID-19 mitigation measures among American adults: the need for consistent and unified messaging. Health Educ Res 2021; published online Jan 26. DOI:10.1093/her/cyab002.
6. Dhawan D, Pinnamaneni R, Bekalu M, Viswanath K. Association between different types of mass media and antenatal care visits in India: a cross-sectional study from the National Family Health Survey (2015-2016). BMJ Open. 2020 Dec 15;10(12):e042839. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042839. PMID: 33323449.
7. Viswanath K, Lee EWJ, Pinnamaneni R. We Need the Lens of Equity in COVID-19 Communication. Health Commun. 2020 Dec;35(14):1743-1746. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2020.1837445. Epub 2020 Oct 26. PMID: 33106029.
8. Dhingra D, Dabas A, Anand T, Pinnamaneni R. Maternal knowledge, attitude and practices during childhood diarrhoea. Trop Doct.2018 Oct;48(4):298-300. doi: 10.1177/0049475518787425. Epub 2018 Jul 17. PMID: 30012081.
9. Saxena R, Puri A, Pinnamaneni R. Waugh syndrome in preterm infant: diagnostic clues. Pediatr Neonatol. 2015 Jun;56(3):203-4. doi: 10.1016/j.pedneo.2015.01.003. Epub 2015 Feb 4. PMID: 25769701.
10. Abstract of ‘Development and Validity of the Red Flag Developmental Screening Checklist’ Phase I study published in Australasian Medical Journal, Vol 3, No 8 under Medicon 2010 Conference Abstracts.
