Monica Lakhanpaul FRCPCH is a British Indian consultant paediatrician at Whittington Health NHS Trust, and Professor of Integrated Community Child Health at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL). She was Deputy Theme Lead for Collaborations in Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care – North Thames, and is currently Adjunct Professor at Public Health Foundation India, UCL Global Strategic Academic Advisor (India), National Patient and Public Engagement Lead for the

NIHR The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "improv ...

GOSH Biomedical Research Centre and

National Specialty Lead for Children.

Early life and education

Lakhanpaul grew up in Leeds. She graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine (distinction; paediatrics) from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 1992, and with a Doctor of Medicine from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

in May 2003. Lakhanpaul also gained her Doctorate in paediatrics and child health in 2003.

Clinical and research career

Following on from receiving her doctorate, Lakhanpaul took up simultaneous senior lecturer and consultant paediatrician appointments at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

and

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, respectively. In 2012, Lakhanpaul took up her professorship at the UCL GOS Institute of Child Heath, and in 2016 she was appointed head of the Department of Population, Policy and Practice. She continues to practice clinically as a paediatrician in London, and through her Global Strategic Academic Advisor (India) roles, leads on strategy and delivery of partnerships and collaboration between UCL and South Asia and India. Lakhanpaul's research is multi-disciplinary and translational with particular focus on research programs with a cross-sector, multi-disciplinary, structured and collaborative approach. Her work spans from clinical trials to participatory methods including public engagement and working with the arts and humanities to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, with a focus on the UK and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. She particularly focuses on disability, asthma and nutrition as exemplar public health issues in South Asian families to optimise their health and later risk for non-communicable disease. Lakhanpaul has been instrumental in establishing the PANChSHEEL study around integrated health, education and environmental intervention to optimise infant feeding practices through school and Anganwadi networks in India and has been widely reported on both in the UK and India. This is a collaboration between

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

, and the

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT- Delhi) is a public institute of technology located in Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology created to be a Centre of Excellence for India's training, research and developme ...

. Lakhanpaul established the Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON) study to determine whether transferring health models from resource poor countries and implementing them in deprived localities in the UK could lead to clinically and cost-effective interventions within the NHS. Working with parents and healthcare professionals, Lakhanpaul also established Acutely Sick Child Safety Netting Information Needs (ASK SNIFF) which provides resources to help families with young children understand signs and symptoms of acute illness. It forms part of a larger program of work aiming to develop an intervention package to improve the management of acutely sick children. She is currently leading the Children in Homeless Accommodations Managing Pandemic Invisibility Or Non-Inclusive Strategies (CHAMPIONS) project based at

, in partnership with

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

The Children's Society The Children's Society, formally the Church of England Children's Society, is a United Kingdom national children's charity (registered No. 221124) allied to the Church of England. The charity's objectives are to improve the lives of children and ...

British Association for Community Child Health
and others. Lakhanpaul co-founded the cross-sector Health Education Engineering and Environment (HEEE) Platform, and was Program Director for Children and Young People, UCL Partners Academic Health Sciences Network. In 2023, Professor Lakhanpaul was named National Patient and Public Engagement Lead for th
NIHR GOSH Biomedical Research Centre
and, in 2024, she was invited to the South Asian Health Foundation 25th anniversary event at the House of Lords and the launch of their ‘Health Inequalities: Full Stop - The hidden crisis affecting children and families in temporary accommodation in the UK' report which she co-authored. In February 2024, she was invited to become Clinical Advisor to Happy Baby NGO and Barnardo's children's charity and, in July 2024, she became a Churchill Fellow selected by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. Later, in September 2024, Lakhanpaul started her role as the

National Specialty Lead for Children and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science (Hon DSc) by

for her contributions to child and adolescent health worldwide.

Awards and recognition

* Asian Women of Achievement Award (2010) *HSJ Patient Safety Award for ‘Spotting the Sick Child’ (Patient Safety in Diagnosis) (2011) *

NICE Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million NIHR The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "improv ...

National Specialty Lead for Children * Global Strategic Academic Advisor (India), UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement) * Co-Director of the Childhood Infections and Pollution (CHIP) Consortium * Adjunct Professor of the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) * Member by Distinction of the

Faculty of Public Health The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is a public health association in the United Kingdom established as a registered charity. It is the standard setting body for public health specialists within the United Kingdom, setting standards for training ...

* Faculty Member of the Reach Alliance * Churchill Fellow selected by Winston Churchill Memorial Trust * National Patient and Public Engagement Lead,

GOSH Biomedical Research Centre * Clinical Advisor to Happy Baby NGO and Barnardo's children's charity *

National Specialty Lead for Children * Honorary Doctorate of Science (Hon DSc) awarded by

for contributions to child and adolescent health, 2024 * National B.A.M.E Health and Care Awards 'Ground-breaking Researcher of the Year’ Award 2024 * Highly Commended at the UCL East Engagement Awards 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakhanpaul, Monica Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British paediatricians English women medical doctors Medical doctors from Leeds Fellows of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Academics of University College London 21st-century British medical doctors 21st-century British women medical doctors Alumni of the University of Manchester Alumni of the University of Nottingham British women paediatricians Medical doctors from Yorkshire British people of Indian descent 21st-century English women 21st-century English medical doctors