Prof Sarang Deo, Executive Director

Professor Deo is the Executive Director of the Max Institute of Healthcare Management and Professor of Operations Management at the Indian School of Business. As the Executive Director of MIHM, he provides a strategic roadmap to all healthcare initiatives at the ISB. He leads a multi-disciplinary team of faculty and research affiliates to cover research and education programmes in collaboration with healthcare and pharmaceutical companies globally. He provides academic oversight to the Institute’s Long Duration Programme, the Healthcare Management Programme.

Professor Deo’s research investigates the impact of operational decisions regarding design and management of healthcare delivery systems on population-level health outcomes. His work spans a variety of contexts including vaccine supply chains, ambulance transport, diagnostic networks in a variety of geographic contexts including the U.S., sub-Saharan Africa and India.

His current projects include improvement of the quality of TB diagnosis and treatment in India's private sector, understanding operational and economic barriers for last mile delivery of health commodities in rural areas, assessing the impact of telemedicine on patients' care-seeking behavior, and development of community-based chronic disease management programs.

He has published several research papers in top-tier academic journals and also developed case studies that are closely related to his research projects. He frequently collaborates with international agencies such as the Clinton Health Access Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and his research has been funded by the US National Science Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada.

Sowmya Shashidhara, Associate Director

Sowmya is the Associate Director at Indian School of Business's Max Institute of Healthcare Management. She works closely with the Executive Director of the Institute in setting the strategic direction of the healthcare management Institute. She joined ISB in 2012 after an exciting stint with the airport and aviation division of GMR Airports in new business and product development. Leveraging her product development experience, Sowmya worked with the academics and healthcare industry to build the "Advanced Management Programme for Healthcare", mid-career management programme for senior healthcare professionals that is tightly linked to the changing landscape of the industry.

Sowmya leads the education and industry outreach portfolio of the Institute and works closely with the research team in building linkages to the portfolios she leads. She is interested understanding the impact of technology on healthcare delivery She is currently building the initiative ’Healthcare at ISB’ an online / offline community of healthcare professionals who can share, discuss and solve some of the big healthcare question of the industry.

She is an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur.

Vandana Yadav, Manager

Vandana Yadav is an engineer-turned journalist. Awarded with WEF Exceptional Woman of Excellence 2020 and The Lioness Inspiring Young Women 2018, her career started as an engineer with IIM Ahmedabad. Soon after, she decided to follow her love for writing and switched to the field of journalism. An IIMC alumna, Vandana has worked with the leading business daily, Business Standard, and institutes/organisations such as the National Innovation Foundation, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India and IIT Gandhinagar in the past. Before joining Max Institute of Healthcare Management, she was leading content and branding for a London-based genetic healthcare startup. 

Vandana has written several books and articles during the course of her career. However, publications titled Transform Maharashtra and A Clean Slate remain her favourite. Vandana is a poet and a shayara at heart who rejoices in playing with words. In her own words, she is a "serious editor, a thoughtful writer, an impulsive poet and an all-time ready traveller".