Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy works as an Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, and practices as a public health physician in University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. She is also a visiting scholar at Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom since 2014.
Dr Bhoo Pathy’s career is focused on optimizing life after cancer in resource-limited settings through research and advocacy. She is particularly interested in the state of cancer control in the low- and middle-income countries, and enhancing treatment outcomes and patient-centered outcomes in these settings.
Notably, Dr Bhoo Pathy was the principal investigator of phase III of the Asean CosTs In ONcology (ACTION) study, comprising close to 10,000 cancer patients from eight low-and middle-income member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN). The study has been crucial in providing country-specific evidence for Southeast Asian nations to prioritize policies and develop local solutions to reduce the financial loss and premature deaths associated with cancer.
Dr Bhoo-Pathy currently serves in two Lancet Commissions, namely the Lancet Commission on Women and Cancer, and the Lancet Commission on Cancer and Health Systems. Besides her involvement in these commissions, she is a member of the Covid-19 and Cancer Taskforce, a globally representative group of cancer leaders who are gravely concerned that decisions made under the duress of the pandemic will have momentous consequences for cancer mortality for years to come https://covidcancertaskforce.org/
Nirmala Bhoo Pathy graduated as a medical doctor from University of Malaya, Malaysia in 2001. Following completion of her master’s degree in Public Health with distinction in 2008, she was awarded a fellowship by the European Commission, under which she completed a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology with cum laude, followed by a PhD (cancer epidemiology) from University of Utrecht, Netherlands in 2011.