Full Name: Professor Dr. Meerjady Sabrina Flora

Affiliation: Directorate General of Health Services

Current Position: Additional Director General (P & D)

Date of Birth: 1965

Place of Birth: Bangladesh

Home District: Dhaka

Nationality: Bangladeshi

Profile:

Meerjady Sabrina Flora (born 1965) is a Bangladeshi physician, professor of epidemiology and public health specialist. She is the Additional Director General (Planning and Development) of Directorate General of Health Services. Before, she headed the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), the apex center for conducting disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, disease control, epidemic prevention and research in Bangladesh. Sabrina is a fellow of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research. She is also the vice president of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes.

Sabrina was born in Dhaka. During childhood, she was always encouraged to be a doctor. Her father dreamt and motivated her to pursue medical science. After enrolling in Dhaka Medical College, in 1983, her world and her perspective towards life grew wider. She was involved in student politics during her tenure. Her friends and her seniors were the first to notice her cultural and leadership qualities. This acknowledgement encouraged her to do extracurricular activities through many platforms which eventually led her to study public health. During her internship as a doctor, she realised that public health is diverse and takes account of the health of an entire population, rather than focusing on health at an individual level. After grasping that notion, it was apparent to her that this field would suit her perfectly.

After obtaining her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree, Sabrina worked in several multinational institutions. She received her master's degree in epidemiology from the National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) and she received her PhD degree from the University of Cambridge. Later, she worked at the Bangladesh Medical Research Council for three years as the Assistant Director. She joined NIPSOM afterwards as the Assistant Professor of the Department of Epidemiology and was promoted to a Professor gradually. She was appointed as the Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) in 2016 and Additional Director General (P & D) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in 2020.

As the Director of IEDCR Sabrina has implemented lots of surveillance activities, research, oversaw emergencies while ensuring screening measures for ZIKA, MERS-CoV etc. at Dhaka Airport. Her team also dealt with the Chikungunya outbreak in 2017 and is currently overseeing the death review committee for the recent dengue outbreak. During COVID-19 pandemic, until her promotion, she was the focal person of COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh as the head of IEDCR.

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