Prof. Mehrotra is a distinguished global health leader, currently serving as an adjunct professor at Emory University and a board director for the Indian Cancer Genome Atlas and the Centre for Health, Innovation, and Policy Foundation.
His extensive leadership in public health includes directing India’s National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, founding and heading the WHO-FCTC Global Knowledge Hub on Smokeless Tobacco Products, and being the Founder-CEO of the India Cancer Research Consortium. His academic affiliations extend globally, with honorary professorships at Brunel, York, and Pretoria Universities, and prior roles as an affiliate investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s HABIT Lab, Seattle. He is also the Chief Medical Officer at the Open Health Sciences Laboratory. He has contributed as an independent member of the Scientific Council of the WHO IARC and as a standing editorial board member for the WHO IARC Cytopathology Purple books.
Beyond his academic and research career, Dr. Mehrotra is a fervent proponent of affordable cancer care, having spearheaded numerous impactful public health initiatives. He played a pivotal role in guiding India’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in developing and implementing the Framework for Cancer Control. He was instrumental in launching HPV vaccination programs for cervical cancer in three states, most recently Sikkim.
With expertise in cancer prevention, epidemiology, pathology, and public health, Prof. Mehrotra has experience leading large multidisciplinary teams, overseeing complex operations, and shaping national-scale strategic plans. He excels at fostering key institutional partnerships and leveraging evidence to influence policy. His extensive collaborative network spans government, academia, and the private and not-for-profit sectors, facilitating projects with renowned international institutions such as the US National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the UK’s National Institute of Health Research, The Union, and the World Health Organization Framework Convention for Tobacco Control.
An impactful researcher, he boasts a Scopus Impact Factor of 61 and over 300 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals including NEJM, Lancet, Cancer, BMJ, and Nature, complemented by numerous books, chapters, and technical reports. He serves on the editorial boards of 10 medical journals and has successfully led over ten research grants as principal investigator, securing significant funding.
His primary research interests encompass various aspects of non-communicable diseases, including the early diagnosis and screening of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and tobacco control (with a focus on smokeless varieties). He is also dedicated to mentoring younger scientists and advancing health worker training. His significant contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious accolades, including the Dr. P.N. Wahi and Dr. Lachman awards in Cancer Prevention, the Ernest Fernandes Award, and the Wahi Oration of the Indian Academy of Cytologists, of which he was president in 2013.
A committed educator, he has successfully mentored more than three dozen graduate and postgraduate trainees in pathology, epidemiology, molecular cancer research, and global health. Dr. Mehrotra holds degrees in medicine from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune; an MD and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Allahabad; and a Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathology from the United Kingdom.
