Dr Rakesh Aggarwal is Director of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, Puducherry since January 1, 2019.

Dr Aggarwal obtained his MBBS and MD (Medicine) degrees from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, and DM (Gastroenterology) degree from the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. He also has a Master’s degree in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, and has received training in laboratory research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, USA.

He joined the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI), Lucknow as a faculty member in Gastroenterology in 1991, and worked there in various capacities, including as Professor, till 2018, when he moved to JIPMER.

Dr Aggarwal is an eminent physician, teacher and researcher. He has been involved in research on clinical, epidemiology, laboratory and economic aspects of liver disease, in particular viral hepatitis, leading to nearly 300 publications and several awards. He is also interested in vaccination, epidemiology, biostatistics, research methodology, scientific communication, journal editing, health economics, and medical education. 

He is an elected fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences (India) and National Academy of Medical Sciences (India). He has also been the President of Indian Association for the Study of Liver (2018-2020). 

He serves on several national and international panels and committees. He is currently a member of WHO’s Immunization and Vaccines Related Implementation Research Advisory Committee (IVIR-AC; 2023 onwards), and was a member of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group on Immunization (SAGE; 2017-22) and of Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STAC-HHS; 2017-2021). He is also the Chair of WHO South-East Asia Region’s Immunization Technical Advisory Group (SEAR-ITAG). 

He has been associated with editing several journals, and is currently President of the World Association of Medical Editors.