Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Rohit Ramchandani, DrPH, MPH, is an award-winning researcher, innovator, and business executive specializing in health innovation, with current areas of focus including psychedelic-medicine & childhood diarrhea.
Research Interests
Health Innovation; Health Systems; Human-Centred Design; Scaling; Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E); Global Mental Health & Psychedelic Medicine; Childhood Diarrhea; Tuberculosis; Malaria; Blindness/Vision Sciences; Pandemic Preparedness & Response; Implementation Science; Health Delivery; Multi-Sectoral Partnerships; WASH; One Health; Access & Equity.
Experiences & Accomplishments
Rohit Ramchandani, DrPH, MPH is an accomplished researcher, educator, business executive and implementation scientist. For almost two decades, Dr. Ramchandani's research and practice has focused on the conceptualization, design, development, implementation, evaluation and scaling of health innovations with the potential for broad scale population health impact. With a systems lens, and working at the intersections of multiple sectors (public, private, NGO, academia, civil society), he has played key leadership roles across multiple life-saving intervention programs and projects (e.g. childhood diarrhoea, WASH, malaria, tuberculosis, One Health, COVID-19, psychedelic medicine for mental health). He has taught courses and runs workshops on global health innovation. He regularly sits on thesis committees and advises students. He, and projects he has led, are recipients of numerous awards including the FT/IFC Transformational Business Award in Health, London Design Museum's Product Design of the Year, JHSPH's Georgeda Buchbinder Research Award, the University of Waterloo's Young Alumni Award, a Grand Challenges Canada Rising Stars in Global Health Award, and the Canada Millennium Excellence Scholarship. He holds faculty appointments within the Bloomberg School of Public Health, The University of Waterloo School of Public Health Sciences, and is a Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. As a member of the Board of Directors of the Jane Goodall Institute, he focuses on improving the intersections between animals, people and the environment. Dr. Ramchandani is also an Alumnus of esteemed programs including the Governor General's Canadian Leadership conference, the AKFC Global Leadership Program, and SHAD Valley. In addition to his academic roles, he is currently Chief Innovation Officer at Huxley Health and the Institute for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies & Healing (IPATH).
Honors & Awards
2019 - Selected as a Kick Ass Canadian (http://kickasscanadians.ca/) along with astronaut Chris Hadfield and Olympian Clara Hughes
2015 - INDEX Award: Design to Improve Life, Finalist (top 4%)
2015 - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)/Save the Children Healthcare Innovation Award (“Oscars of Healthcare Innovation”)
2014 - Financial Times (FT)/International Finance Corporation (IFC) Transformational Business Award – Health Category
2013 - Winner of the Diamond Award (Top Award) and the Food Security Award at the 25th Dupont Packaging Innovation Awards
2013 - Observer Ethical Product of the Year Award (for the Kit Yamoyo anti-diarrhea kit)
2013 - ColaLife's innovation, diarrhoea treatment co-pack, is highlighted as a “Best Buy in Global Health”. Impact Magazine. Retrieved from: https://issuu.com/mandy_mac/docs/psi_impact_no16_loresmarch21__1_
2013 - Highlighted at the UN General Assembly for selection as one of "10 Breakthrough Innovations in Child Health" (for the Kit Yamoyo anti-diarrhea kit) – PATH and the Every Woman, Every Child Initiative
2013 - International Product Design of the Year (for the Kit Yamoyo anti-diarrhea kit) - London Design Museum
2012 - Selected as member of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference (GGCLC) for Top Canadian Leaders across all sectors
2012 - Top 5% Most Viewed LinkedIn Profiles of 2012
2012 - Grand Challenges Canada Rising Stars in Global Health Award recipient (as Principal Investigator for the ColaLife Operational Trial Zambia)
2011 - Georgeda Buchbinder Research Award, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
2009 - Young Alumni Award, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
2007 - Celebrating Performance Award, Accenture Health and Life Sciences
2005 - Volunteer of the Year, Unite For Sight
2004 - University of Waterloo John McBain Award for International Entrepreneurship
2000-2004 - Canada Millennium Excellence Award (National Laureate)
2000 - Vedic Cultural Scholarship - outstanding contribution to the South Asian Community
1999 - University of British Columbia Shad Valley Program + Royal Bank Shad Entrepreneurship Cup – Best Business Plan
Select Publications
Selected Publications:
Berry J, Berry S, Chizema E, Fundafunda B, Hamer DH, Tembo S, and Ramchandani R. Institutionalizing Innovation: From Pilot to Scale for Co-Packaged Oral Rehydration Salts and Zinc—A Case Study in Zambia. Global Health: Science and Practice Jan 2024, DOI: 10.9745/GHSP-D-23-00286
Ramchandani R, Berry S, Berry J, et al. Design thinking to improve rational use of oral rehydration salts: lessons from an innovative co-packaged diarrhoea treatment kit. BMJ Innovations May 2023. doi: 10.1136/bmjinnov-2023-001081. Available at: https://innovations.bmj.com/content/early/2023/05/10/bmjinnov-2023-001081
Ramchandani R, Berry S, Berry J, et al. Emulating value-chains of fast-moving consumer goods to improve uptake of co-packaged ORS and zinc for childhood diarrhoea: evaluation of the ColaLife trial. BMJ Innovations 2022;8:169-182. Available at: https://innovations.bmj.com/content/8/3/169
Ramchandani R, Kazatchkine M, Liu J, Sudan P, Dybul M, Matsoso, Nordstrom A, Phelan A, Legido-Quigley H, Singh S, Mabuchi S. Vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for covid-19: redesigning systems to improve pandemic response BMJ 2021; 375 :e067488 doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-067488. Available at: https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj-2021-067488
Lal A, Bulc B, Bewa MJ; Cassim MY, Choonara S; Efendioglu S. Germann S, Hafeez H, Iversen K, Nishtar S, O'Leary C, Orlic P, Ralston J, Ramchandani R. Changing the narrative: responsibility for youth engagement is a two-way street (2019). The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 3(10): 673-675. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31405771/
Bulc B, Al-Wahdani B, Bustreo, F, Choonara, S, Demaio A, Imbago DA, Lal A, Odede JP; Orlic P, Ramchandani, R. Urgency of Transformation: Youth Engagement in Global Health (2019). The Lancet Global Health, 7(7): PE839-E840. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31105050/#affiliation-10
Berry S, Berry J, Ramchandani R, Spencer N. Should we welcome multinational companies’ involvement in programmes to improve child health? BMJ 2015; 350:h3046 doi:10.1136/bmj.h3046. Available at: https://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h3046/rapid-responses
Bulc B. and Ramchandani R. (March 2021). Accelerating global health R&D: the role of product development partnerships. Geneva. Available at: https://www.mmv.org/newsroom/publications/accelerating-global-health-rd-role-product-development-partnerships
Ramchandani R, Kurzawa Z, Nemarich C. (2019). Zambia Private Health Sector Assessment: SRH & HIV. USAID. Available at: https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00W73P.pdf
Ambler G et. al. Proposal to include an additional listing of co-packaged ORS and zinc for management of diarrhea in children on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (2019). WHO. Available at: https://orszco-pack.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Application_WHO-EML_DIG_12Nov2018.pdf
Bulc B. & Ramchandani R. (2018). Engaging young people for health and sustainable development: Strategic opportunities for the World Health Organization and partners. WHO. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/274368
Ramchandani R. and Bulc B. Final evaluation of Australia’s investment in Product Development Partnerships (2013-2018): Evaluation findings and options for future DFAT investment, November 2017. Available at: https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/final-evaluation-of-australias-investment-in-product-development-partnerships-2013-2018
Diarrhoea & Pneumonia Working Group. Progress Over a Decade of Zinc and ORS Scale-up: Best Practices and Lessons Learned, February 2016. Available at: http://www.clintonhealthaccess.org/scaling-up-zinc-ors-report
Ramchandani R. Putting the “Live” Back in Delivery. Retrieved December 12, 2014 from: https://www.devex.com/news/putting-the-live-back-in-delivery-84917
Ramchandani, R. The Last Word: The Absurdity of Inequity. Waterloo Magazine, Spring 2014. Retrieved from: https://uwaterloo.ca/alumni/sites/ca.alumni/files/uploads/files/c004681_magspring2014_accessible.pdf