Purnima leads research and policy engagement on nutrition programs in South Asia. She directs the POSHAN initiative in India and serves as Principal Investigator for large-scale evaluations of maternal and child nutrition interventions, including Alive & Thrive. With a PhD in International Nutrition from Cornell University, she has over two decades of experience in program evaluation, policy analysis, and capacity building.
Her work focuses on reducing malnutrition through evidence-based strategies, strengthening implementation systems, and fostering partnerships across governments, donors, and civil society. She has authored numerous publications in leading journals, contributed to global nutrition dialogues, and received the Nevin Scrimshaw Mid-Career Award in Global Nutrition. Purnima is also a founding member of the Society for Implementation Science in Nutrition and continues to shape nutrition policy and practice in South Asia and globally.