Pryanka Relan, MD

Dr. Pryanka Relan is a clinical emergency medicine specialist and field epidemiologist currently based at the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where she focuses on the development of resilient emergency care systems that respond effectively to health crises such as outbreaks and disasters. At WHO she leads capacity building and operational research efforts for the Emergency Medical Teams Secretariat and supports the clinical COVID-19 team, where she is the focal point for online learning via OpenWHO.org and leads WHO O2CoV2, an observational research study evaluating oxygen requirements and approaches to respiratory support in patients with COVID-19 in LMICs. Prior to joining Health Emergencies Programme at WHO, Dr Relan led the WHO Global Emergency and Trauma Care Initiative, which focuses on coordinated implementation and concentrated monitoring and evaluation of impact of the WHO emergency care systems toolkit as part of the Organization’s target to reach 1 billion people with Universal Health Coverage. During the pandemic, she also supported guideline development, trainings, tools and research for COVID-19 and beyond among a diverse and multidisciplinary team of engineers, architects and clinicians.

Originally from India, Dr. Relan currently practices clinical emergency medicine in the United States. She previously worked as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where she served on the Global Rapid Response Team. Dr. Relan has been involved in several emergency responses including in conflict and refugee settings in the surveillance, epidemiology, laboratory, case management and WASH response areas. She completed her fellowship in global health with a special focus on tropical medicine and ultrasound from Mount Sinai Hospital System in New York City.