Prativa

Baral

,

PhD

Dr. Baral is an epidemiologist working at the intersection of global health research, policy, and advocacy. Her career has included managerial and technical roles for various international agencies including the UN, GFF, WHO, GPMB, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Bank, with a special focus on global health policymaking in the areas of health emergencies, pandemic prevention and preparedness and health systems resilience. She has also advised the Government of Canada in various capacities, including designing and drafting the country's first comprehensive global health research strategic plan.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Baral was a trusted media expert, consistently communicating the evolving science and its implications to the Canadian public. She subsequently co-founded a social enterprise called Let Science Connect, aimed to bridge the gaps in science communications among experts through training programs.

Dr. Baral is globally recognized for her work as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, a Royal Society of Arts Fellow, a Canadian Institutes for Health Research doctoral fellow, and a Pierre Elliott Foundation Trudeau Scholar. She also served as the Canadian youth head delegate for the G7 Summit in 2022 and the sole Canadian representative as part of the Global Shapers delegation of young community leaders to the World Economic Forum's  Annual Meeting in Davos in 2023.

Dr. Baral received her PhD in International Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an MPH in infectious disease epidemiology from Columbia University, and a BSc in Anatomy and Cell Biology from McGill University, with training in the biomedical sciences, epidemiology, science communications, and public health.