KEMHRC offers rich opportunities for students from India and abroad to undertake internships or complete their thesis work at both graduate and postgraduate levels. Students from diverse fields such as public health, medicine, life sciences, social sciences, and health policy are encouraged to apply.
Engaging with ongoing research projects provides students practical experience, interdisciplinary exposure, and mentorship from experienced faculty.
The Centre’s academic activities enable it to foster learning, encourage global collaboration, and create a vibrant intellectual environment. This greatly supports its role as a hub for education, research, and innovation in health sciences.
PhD Programme in Health Sciences
Being recognised as a PhD research centre by a reputed university is a significant milestone for any research institute. It reflects the credibility, academic rigour, and infrastructure required to support high-quality doctoral research. KEMHRC’s recognition by Pune University for PhD in Health Sciences underscores its commitment to advancing knowledge, fostering innovation, and nurturing the next generation of researchers in critical areas such as public health, clinical research, epidemiology, health systems, and policy studies.
The Centre’s PhD programme enables scholars to engage in in-depth research under expert guidance and within an environment that encourages scientific inquiry and academic excellence. It also allows the KEMHRC to collaborate more actively with universities, other research bodies, and funding agencies. Students benefit from the Centre’s ongoing projects, gaining access to field sites, experienced faculty, and well-equipped laboratories and libraries.
The PhD programme transforms KEMHRC from being primarily a site of research implementation into a centre of academic thought and higher learning. It creates a vibrant academic ecosystem where ideas are exchanged, new methods are developed, and research findings contribute directly to national and global health priorities. Well-respected in the field, the PhD programme at KEMHRC attracts talented young researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and international collaborations, further enriching the research culture.
By integrating doctoral research into its core activities, the Centre not only contributes to capacity-building in the health sciences but also ensures that its work has both immediate impact and long-term academic value. The presence of a PhD programme adds depth, continuity, and intellectual vibrancy to KEMHRC’s mission of improving health outcomes through evidence- based research and innovation.
PhD Students
Name of Student
Registration Year
PhD Topic
Guide
Research Place and
University
Current
Status
Diksha Singh
2022-2023
Developing and testing the feasibility of a comprehensive psychological intervention to assess and manage the psychosocial impact of suffering from chronic respiratory diseases amongst adults seeking pulmonary rehabilitation in rural India
Dr. Dhiraj Agarwal
Dr. Hilary Pinnock
Dr. Ruth McQuillan
Dr. Kirstie McClatchey
KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune and University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Ongoing
Mitali Inamdar
2022-2023
Influence of maternal microbiome on development of infant’s gut microbiome
Dr. Dhiraj Agarwal
Dr. Dhiraj Dhotre
KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune and Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
Ongoing
Karan Nagpurkar
2021-2022
Strengthening implementation of Universal Drug Susceptibility Testing (UDST) for diagnosis of drug- resistant tuberculosis in Pune district
Dr. Dhiraj Agarwal
KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune and Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
Ongoing
Sindhu Nila
2019-2020
Social determinants of non- communicable diseases and risk factors in tribal areas in Pune district,
Maharashtra, India
Dr. Sanjay Juvekar
Dr. Dhiraj Agarwal
KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune and Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
Ongoing
Varsha Maske
2018-2019
A study of the outcome, compliance and client satisfaction of postpartum intrauterine contraceptive device (PPIUCD) – a family planning method
Dr. Sanjay Juvekar
Dr. Dhiraj Agarwal
KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune and Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
Ongoing
Snigdha Gupta
2018-2019
Study on nutritive composition of wheat germ and its supplementation effect on weight reduction and lipid profile in human subjects
Dr. Sonali Sanghavi
KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune and Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
Ongoing
Completed PhD
Name of Student
PhD Topic
Research Place and University
Aditi Apte
Nanotechnology for transdermal delivery of micronutrients for prevention and treatment of nutritional deficiencies
Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India
Rutuja Patil
To assess the feasibility of using a well-established teleconsultation facility(Micro Health Centre -MHC) in management of COPD and asthma in a resource constrained area
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Sudipto Roy
Care-seeking practices of and barriers to care- seeking for pneumonia in children aged less than five years in tribal and non-tribal rural areas of Pune district, India
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Shirish Raut
Preclinical pharmacological evaluation of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles
Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune and APT research Centre, Pune, India
Dhiraj Agarwal
Exploring the human oral and nasal microbiota in healthy and diseased population - a study of rural population in Pune, India
Chest Research Foundation, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
Vijendra Ingole
A study of weather effect, susceptibility, and potential impact of climate change on mortality in Vadu HDSS, India
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, UmeĂĄ University, Sweden
Utkarsh Mukkannwar
Assessment of the ambient and indoor air quality and its relative impact on respiratory health in rural settings in India
Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
Siddhi Hirve
Integrating aging research in demographic surveillance areas – the HDSS, Vadu experience in a rural district in Western India
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, UmeĂĄ University, Sweden