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NIRI Founding Members

The founding members are engaged in other institutions as full-time employees (unless otherwise stated). They are involved in NIRI to create a platform for research and innovation in Nepal and transfer their skills to Nepal through unpaid and volunteering contributions.

ARJUN SUBEDI

ARJUN SUBEDI

Mr. Subedi was born in Parbat, Nepal. He holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the Institute of Agriculture and Animals Sciences (IAAS), Tribhuvan University, Nepal. After completion of his undergraduate degree, he worked for a short time in plant pathology lab at the Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and moved to the United States for graduate studies in plant pathology. He achieved his MS in plant pathology from Auburn University, Alabama. During his MS degree, Mr. Subedi got trained on epidemiological studies on small grain crops and mycotoxin contamination. Mr. Subedi is currently pursuing his PhD in plant pathology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois. His research focuses on fungal genetics, soybean pathology, and biological control of plant diseases. His Interest lies in Fungal Genetics, Plant Disease Epidemiology, Biological , Control of Plant Diseases, Plant Disease Diagnosis, Biostatistics, Improved Agriculture Practices and Rural Development

DHIRAJ ACHARYA, PhD

DHIRAJ ACHARYA, PhD

Dr. Dhiraj Acharya was born in Baglung, Nepal, and received his M. Sc. degree in Medical Microbiology from Tribhuvan University in 2007. Thereafter, he worked as an instructor of Immunology and Medical Microbiology in Nepal for three years. Dhiraj attended the University of Southern Mississippi for his Ph. D., which he obtained in 2017. During his Ph. D., he studied the host’s immune response and pathogenesis induced by emerging alpha- and flaviviruses in the laboratory of Dr. Fengwei Bai. Dhiraj is currently conducting his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Michaela Gack at the University of Chicago where his research focuses on investigating innate immunity and viral immune escape mechanisms.

HEM RAJ DHAKAL, PhD

HEM RAJ DHAKAL, PhD

Dr. Hem Raj Dhakal was born in Surkhet, Nepal. He taught English in various high schools and colleges. After completing a master’s degree in English Literature from Nepal, he moved to the United States to pursue another master’s degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation and Ed. D. in Organizational Leadership and Development. Dr. Dhakal also established two social enterprises and one nonprofit organization in the United States. In addition, he serves as a secretary and assistant director of a nonprofit organization located in Washington DC.

MILAN BIMALI, PhD

MILAN BIMALI, PhD

Milan was born and raised in Biratnagar, Nepal. He moved to the USA in 2008 to pursue additional undergraduate work, followed by graduate work in Mathematics and in Biostatistics. After completing his terminal degree, he accepted a postgraduate position at Yale University, followed by subsequent faculty appointments at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He primarily collaborates with researchers in the academic health centers and provides support in grant development, study design, data analysis, and dissemination of findings. He also serves as co-chair of the “Strategic Initiatives Committee” within the American Statistical Association, and as a vice-president/president-elect for Central Arkansas Statistical Association. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking and watching movies.

RAJENDRA PANGENI, PhD

RAJENDRA PANGENI, PhD

Dr. Pangeni was born and raised in Syangja, Nepal. He moved to Mumbai after high school to pursue his higher education. He returned to Nepal and worked in various schools and colleges as a teacher/lecturer and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue his Masters and Ph.D. Dr. Pangeni has received his post-doctoral training from Northwestern University and City of Hope National Medical Center in the USA. He received his research training in cancer epigenetics during his Ph.D. and postdoctoral fellowships. Currently, he works on Cancer Genetics/epigenetics and metastases, Cancer epidemiology, Experimental therapeutics, Disease diagnostics and drug discovery

Dr.SANTOSH SAPKOTA

Dr.SANTOSH SAPKOTA

Dr. Santosh Sapkota Originally from a remote village in Kaski Nepal, he has been in the US since 2005. He successfully served two terms as a President of the America Nepal Medical Foundation. During his tenure, the organization was able to raise more than 2 million dollars for Nepal and grew organization membership from less than 40 to almost 300. He is a board member of multiple non-profit organizations and a host of his own online program, Sapati Talk Show.

TARA SIGDEL, PhD

TARA SIGDEL, PhD

Dr. Tara Sigdel is an associate professor of surgery at the University of California. He obtained his PhD in biochemistry from Miami University (OH) followed by postdoctoral training in biomarker discovery, immunology, and organ transplantation at Stanford University. Dr. Sigdel is actively involved in the identification of non-invasive biomarkers genes, peptides, proteins, and antibodies that monitor disease status after kidney transplantation. He has authored and co-authored more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Dr. Sigdel is also a founder, Board Member, and Director (Natural and Applied Sciences) of Nexus Institute of Research and Innovation (NIRI): a society established to promote quality research and innovation in Nepal and beyond. Dr. Sigdel is a founder member of the International Nepali Biomedical Society (INBS) which is established to promote networking and communication among Nepali who is in the field of biomedicine. Dr. Sigdel is passionate about communicating with the Nepali community in the US and in Nepal. He has been running “Chautari” both in person and online where he collaborates with Dr. Toya Baral to speak with guests who have useful messages to the community. Because of his passion for training and mentoring young students in Nepal, he is leading the collaboration between NIRI and Lokopakar to mentor public high school students in different districts of Nepal.

BHESH R SHARMA, PhD

BHESH R SHARMA, PhD

Dr. Bhesh was born and raised in Baglung, Nepal. He did his high school and undergraduate school in Pokhara, Nepal. He then worked in various pharmacy schools as a lecturer/ Department Head, and in a teaching hospital as a hospital pharmacist. He also worked as a Drug Inspector in the Department of Drug Administrator, MOH, Nepal. Dr. Bhesh earned his Master’s and PhD from South Korea. He then received his postdoctoral training from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA. He is now working as a research scientist in dissecting the role of the innate immune system in infection, inflammatory diseases, and cancer at the Department of Immunology in St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis. His interest lies in Innate Immunity, Infection Cancer, Metabolic Diseases, Photomedicine, and Herbal Drugs.

KISUN POKHAREL, PhD

KISUN POKHAREL, PhD

Kisun Pokharel is currently a research scientist at Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). He holds a PhD in Genetics from the University of Helsinki, Finland. He studies several traits of domestic and semi-domestic livestock species that have adapted and survived harsh arctic and sub-arctic environments.

DIPAK UPRETY

DIPAK UPRETY

Mr. Uprety was born in Lisankhu Sindhupalchok Nepal. He completed his schooling in his birthplace and Darjeeling and then moved to Kathmandu for further study. Uprety has achieved MBA degree in Supply Chain Management from Arunachal University of Studies. Dipak moved to Qatar in 2007 to work in a multinational company. Since then, he has gained experiences working in managerial positions for various multinational companies. These multinational companies included Petrochemical, Energy, Oil & Gas, and other sectors. During his professional career, Dipak has gained trainings and skills in Procurement and Supply Chain Management, ISO 9001 based Quality Management System, Human Resources, Administration, Asset and Project Management, and more. Mr. Uprety has appointed as Director of Finance and Administration in March 2023 at NIRI.

OM KURMI, PhD

OM KURMI, PhD

Dr. Kurmi received his undergraduate degree from Tribhuwan University, Nepal and PhD in Public Health from the University of Aberdeen, UK. He completed his post-doctoral training at the University of Birmingham, UK, in the Institute of Occupational Medicine. He worked as a Senior Scientist in Respiratory Epidemiology at the Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, the University of Oxford, UK. He worked as an Assistant Professor in Respiratory Epidemiology in the Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. Currently, he is working as an Associate Professor in Epidemiology and Evidence-based Healthcare Research at Coventry University. He is the chair of the Respiratory Epidemiology Group (6.01) of the European Respiratory Society and the Fellows of the Royal Society of Public Health. He has worked in several large prospective cohorts across all geographical regions, including in biobank studies. His primary research expertise is Respiratory Epidemiology and Environmental Health Epidemiology, and he has been teaching observational research methods and problem-based learning to undergraduate and postgraduate students. He has set up a family cohort in two regions of Nepal to understand the major determinants of health, particularly lung health in children.

Phone:+44 7949 393386
Email:[email protected]

RESHMA SHAKYA, PhD

RESHMA SHAKYA, PhD

Dr Reshma Shakya was born in Nepal. Dr Shakya graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honors) majoring in Biotechnology from SANN International College, Purbanchal University, Nepal. She then moved to Australia and completed a PhD in Medicine degree from The University of Adelaide. Her PhD research was focused on understanding the impact of mutant p53 on tumour microenvironment and identifying potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets to treat mutant p53 expressing tumours. Dr Shakya then joined QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, where she is studying the impact of tumour microenvironment and heterogeneity in clinical response and resistance to immunotherapy. She is also an ambassador for the DeNovo Software company based in California, United States. Dr Shakya provides scientific and technical knowledge about the company’s flagship project, a premier flow and image cytometry data analysis software. Dr Shakya’s research goal is to improve the clinical outcome of cancer patients by integrating histo-morphologic, genetic and immunologic features into the clinical trials of cancer immunotherapy and to improve the future design of personalised therapeutic strategies.

SHYAM DUMRE, PhD

SHYAM DUMRE, PhD

Dr. Dumre is a Senior Research Scientist at Central Department of Microbiology – CDM, Tribhuvan University Kirtipur Kathmandu, Nepal He holds PhD in Molecular Biology and Immunology, Thammasat University, Thailand (2014), and Master of Science (M.Sc.), Medical Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal (2004).

TULASI ACHARYA, PhD

TULASI ACHARYA, PhD

Tulasi Acharya was born in the South Asian country of Nepal. He also taught English and Journalism courses at colleges in Nepal, where he authored textbooks on mass communication and journalism. Acharya published numerous short stories, poems, and articles in Nepali journals, national newspapers and online. He moved to the United States in 2008 to pursue a Master’s degree in creative writing. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Florida Atlantic University, USA. Acharya has a Master’s degree in Women’s Studies and a degree in Professional Writing and Creative Writing. His research interests are marginalized communities, people with disabilities, women and gender, and policies. He is interested in narrative analysis as a method and critical theory and post-colonialism as a framework. His interest is also to analyze literary and autobiographical works and their significance in formation of social policies.

BINISHA SHRESTHA

BINISHA SHRESTHA

Binisha Shrestha is an Entrepreneur/blogger/activist- Return to Nepal Initiative. With a background in film and communications, she’s always been a storyteller driven by a need to understand and influence the audience. She is a relentless problem solver with unquenchable curiosity who can’t help but analyze and try to improve everything she sees. She believes that technology can revolutionize how people learn, communicate and create. She’s passionate about shaping products and services that help people focus on what they do best: be human. After living in USA for almost a decade she moved back to Nepal a year ago. She was born and raised in Lalitpur, Nepal.

DIPESH DHAKAL, PhD

DIPESH DHAKAL, PhD

Dr. Dhakal was raised in Surkhet where he completed his early education. He completed his high school and undergraduate from Kathmandu. Later he completed his Masters from India and PhD from South Korea. He was a Research professor from 2016 to 2020, before moving to the USA. He was principal investigator and co-investigator for the project funded by the national research foundation(NRF), Korea. He has served on the editorial board for different journals as Frontier of Microbiology, Molecules, EC Micron, Nepal Journal of Biotechnology, etc.

KRISHNA P PAUDEL, PhD

KRISHNA P PAUDEL, PhD

Over the past decade, Dr. Krishna Prasad PAudel has been regularly involved in the field of knowledge management. He did PhD research in Knowledge Management and Academic Performance in Higher Educational Institutions of Nepal, Master’s Degree in Management Science having the specialization of Management Information System (MIS) and Decision Support System (DSS) from Tribhuvan University Nepal. He has also completed Masters of Computer Applications (MCA) specializing in Knowledge Management (KM) and Information Security (IS) from Purbanchal University, Nepal. He worked at the Supreme Court of Nepal as the Information Technology (IT) Director. He has developed and implemented the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Master plan of the judiciary to automate judicial activities; both judicial case processing and court administration. Dr. Paudel also contributed to various Ministries and institutions of the Government of Nepal to develop the MIS System. As an IT consultant, Dr. PAudel contributed to developing the concept of Smart City proposed by Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Likewise, He supported developing the MIS system of Cooperative and Poverty Management Information System (COPOMIS) of the Nepal Government. Additionally, He spent most of his spare time facilitating graduate and undergraduate students, on knowledge management, research methodology, and management information system courses in colleges and universities as a visiting faculty. Besides, Dr. Paudel has been continuously conducting research, developing research papers, and disseminating the findings in national and international forums.

Email:[email protected]

PADAM BHANDARI

PADAM BHANDARI

Padam Bhandari was raised in Pokhara where he has completed his secondary education. He also Completed a Graduation in Supply Chain Management (Online) from Riyadh, KSA. He worked as a cashier in Buddha Electronics, one of the prominent Electronics dealers in Nepal. In pursue of career, he switched to KSA for better opportunities and have been working in one of the top class dairy production company in the world. He has held a responsible profile and position in the Almarai company as Supply Chain Manager. His journey started from the year 2002 as Data Processing Clerk in Almarai Company. I am very keen on Entrepreneurships and looking forward to work hand in hand to contribute to NIRI.

SAMIKCHYA BASKOTA

SAMIKCHYA BASKOTA

Ms. Samikchya Baskota is a lawyer and social entrepreneur. She has Bachelor’s degree in Law from Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal, and Master’s of Law from St. John’s University, New York, USA. She has served as in-house counsel in several private institutions in Nepal. She is a member of the Nepal Bar Association. Her field of expertise is corporate law. Her interests include areas of law and development. Hard-earned academic professional career on one hand, she also likes to stretch parallels in the form of a young energetic entrepreneur. Almost half a decade and on, she efficiently engages herself in business which she says is her lately found passion. She is the founder and the CEO of Baskota Group of Industries Pvt. Ltd. A pioneer in introducing one of its kind in Nepal, she also owns an exclusive ‘Tea Bar’ that has been working towards transforming Nepali tea-drinking habits into a healthier one.

SUBASH ADHIKARI, PhD

SUBASH ADHIKARI, PhD

Dr. Subash Adhikari was born in Hetauda, Nepal. After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Physics, he moved to the University of Pune, India to pursue Master’s in Physics specializing in energy-related material research. He returned to Nepal and worked as a material science researcher in Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) as well as a lecturer in various colleges. Later he completed his post-graduate research and Ph.D. from Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea. Currently, he is working as a research consultant for material science and technology in various universities and private firms in Nepal.

UMED PUN, PhD

UMED PUN, PhD

Dr. Pun was born and raised in Nepal during his very early years. He left for Nagaland, India at a very young age for schooling and all his college education. After his post-graduation, he returned to Nepal and served as lecture at Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University at Rampur, Chitwan for three years (1993-1996). He moved to Lincoln University, New Zealand for PhD followed by two years JSPS postdoc at National Institute of Floriculture Science, Tsukuba, Japan. Dr. Pun returned to Nepal in 2004 and began his agro based business in horticulture sector and also served as visiting faculty at Tribhuvan University and adjunct professor at Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal for several years.

BISHNU JOSHI, PhD

BISHNU JOSHI, PhD

Dr. Joshi is a native of Bajhang, Far Western Nepal. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in India. Following his graduation in 2015, he joined the Ph.D. program in chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. He is currently working on the development of macrophages as cell-based imaging and drug delivery tools, and the concomitant effects of functionalization on macrophage biology. Dr. Joshi did his PhD in Chemistry with a multidisciplinary skillset in the field of medicinal chemistry, cell-based drug delivery, & organic synthesis while simultaneously working to start a start-up pharmaceutical to make generic drugs and herbal-based medicine in Nepal. Dr. Joshi is an ardent proponent of the upliftment of rural Nepal via quality education and youth entrepreneurship.

EKANATH KHATIWADA

EKANATH KHATIWADA

Ekanath Khatiwada is a development professional with an international profile, with more than 20 years of experience both in Africa and Asia regions. He has worked with various international development agencies including the UN agencies and implemented a wide range of development programs/projects such as; promoting various rural agribusiness enterprises, renewable energy enterprise technologies, tourism value chains, youth employment innovation fund, and market-based approach. He has contributed to the development and dissemination (including publishing) of various best practice models of the private sector and youth entrepreneurship development.

MANAKAMANA KHANAL, PhD

MANAKAMANA KHANAL, PhD

Dr. Khanal was born and raised in Pokhara, Nepal. She completed her B.Pharm from Pokhara University. Subsequently, she moved to Europe to pursue Erasmus Mundus M.Sc. in Spectroscopy in pharmaceutical sciences from University of Lille 1, France & University of Helsinki, Finland. Next, she received her doctoral degree in Biomedical Engineering from University of Lille 1, France. Her doctoral research, which was conducted in the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Pasteur Institute, was mainly focused on developing nanotherapeutics against virus and bacteria targeting glycan-lectin interactions. Then, she joined the University of Connecticut Health, Connecticut, USA where she developed controlled local anesthetic release nanoformulation that potentially can help patient to reduce number of anesthetic injections after major orthopedic surgeries. After spending a year in Connecticut, she joined National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, where she is involved in doing cutting edge research in lung cancer, and more precisely in mesothelioma, with a goal to have deeper understanding of molecular mechanism of metastases and developing therapies using nanomedicine and personalized therapies like immunotherapy.

RAJENDRA KARKI, PhD

SANJIVAN GAUTAM, PhD

SANJIVAN GAUTAM, PhD

Dr. Gautam was born and raised in Pokhara, Nepal. He moved to India to receive his B.Sc. from Manipal University, Manipal and M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Subsequently, he moved to Europe to obtained PhD in Immunology from University of Freiburg, Germany. His research focus during his graduate study was immunology of innate immune cells and immunodeficiency developed due to genetic defects in transcription factors and metabolic enzymes. Successively, he joined the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States to conduct research in the field of T cell memory and immunotherapy, with a goal to develop novel immunotherapeutic regimens for metastatic cancer and viral infection. Since then he is involved in Immuno-Oncology research and is focused to generate next-generation immune cell therapy for terminal hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications.

SUDARSHAN ARYAL, PhD

SUDARSHAN ARYAL, PhD

Dr. Aryal was born and raised in Gulmi, Nepal. He received his BS degree in agriculture from Purvanchal University. He worked briefly on various agricultural projects in Nepal before he moved to the USA for his graduate studies. He received his MS at the University of Georgia where he worked to better understand host-parasite relationships using nematode-induced resistance mechanisms in cotton. He received his PhD in Nematology from the University of Florida where he worked in various projects of integrated pest management of nematode parasites in bermudagrass and golf courses. He worked in the insect immune system using entomopathogens during his postdoctoral training at the University of California, Riverside. Currently, Dr. Aryal is working as a Senior Research Scientist (nematology lead) at Marrone Bio Innovations, Davis, California.

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Nexus Institute of Research and Innovation (NIRI) is an independent and not-for-profit-sharing institution in Nepal, registered with a vision to promote quality research and innovation across the nation and beyond.

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