Giri Rajahram: From Clinical Practice to Global Health Influence

Giri Rajahram is a Malaysian infectious diseases consultant, global health practitioner, and clinical leader. Based in Sabah, Borneo, Dr. Rajahram serves as Head of the Department of Medicine at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, where he leads clinical services that focus on improving outcomes for local and often marginalised communities. He also provides health policy guidance and serves in technical advisory roles with the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, working collaboratively with national and international partners to strengthen infectious disease management and health system responses.

Dr. Rajahram’s impact is particularly notable in the field of malaria research and control. He has played a central role in epidemiological and clinical research that clarified the prevalence and treatment of Plasmodium knowlesi malaria — a zoonotic form now recognised as a major public health challenge in Malaysia. He was awarded a 5-year grant R01 from the United States National Institutes of Health to lead tropical medicine research programme on this variant of malaria. He also founded the trial site of the largest Clinical Trial Network of Antimicrobial Resistance in Asia, ADVANCE-ID, funded by the Wellcome Trust.

His leadership abilities were internationally recognised when he received the Endeavour Executive Leadership Award from the Australian government, a prestigious recognition for professionals demonstrating outstanding potential for leadership and contribution to community health. Beyond research and policy, he is passionate about teaching and mentoring health professionals, regularly supporting doctors preparing for clinical examinations and fostering the next generation of clinician-scientists.