Mother Health and Nutrition (माँ का पोषण और स्वास्थ्य )

Director, ICMR-NIN, Dr.Hemalatha’s research interests encompass maternal, child health and nutrition. She has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers, book chapters and regulatory reports. Her research efforts have generated vital information on the impact of inflammation and lower reproductive tract infections on fetal growth and also showed amelioration of local and systemic inflammation with Lactobacilli preparations in community settings. She has worked extensively on nutrition status and immunity in women and children, and has carried out basic studies to support her clinical findings and demonstrated the role of nutrition and gut bacteria on endotoxemia, Inflammation, insulin resistance and lipid profile. Recently, she developed a “Preconception education kit” that informs newly married couples and their family members on how to ensure good nutrition and health of the women in preparation of pregnancy. Preconception kit addresses risks like undernutrition, anemia, malnutrition, physical activity and appropriate age, which are all essential to improve birth outcomes and health of the baby.


Dr. M. Raja Sriswan, joined National Institute of Nutrition as a senior research fellow (SRF) in 2008. As an SRF, he worked in the Hyderabad Dexa study under Dr Hannah Kuper (London school of hygiene and tropical medicine, United Kingdom) and Dr K.V Radhakrishna (then a senior scientist in the Clinical Division, NIN). He has also been the in charge medical officer for Nutrition ward (run by NIN) at Niloufer hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad. He has worked in the area of stunting, severe acute malnutrition, infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF) and cardiovascular diseases. His interests also include reproducible research based on R Programming software and dietary collection tools. He also did an internship at IIT-Kharagpur in 2016 for mobile and web based dietary collection tools.

He is currently evaluating the impact of multi sectoral nutrition intervention on reducing malnutrition in vulnerable segments of population in two districts of Karnataka. He is also involved in another study in the slums of Rajahmundry, the objective of which, is to reduce anemia and under nutrition in children, adolescent girls and pregnant women through convergence of various departments that are nutrition sensitive and specific.