Dr. Sana Mahtab

Sana Mahtab is a global child health researcher whose work centers on infectious causes of mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Closely involved with the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network, her scholarship integrates minimally invasive tissue sampling, pathology, and clinical data to strengthen cause-of-death determination and improve survival strategies for vulnerable children.

Her publications examine meningitis, malaria, Klebsiella pneumoniae, malnutrition, neurological illness, and diagnostic inaccuracies in high-mortality settings. A consistent theme is the interaction between infection, undernutrition, and health system gaps, including delays in care and limitations in antemortem diagnostics. This work highlights preventable pathways to death and antimicrobial resistance challenges.

By advancing postmortem diagnostics and comparing them with verbal autopsy and clinical assessments, Mahtab contributes to more accurate mortality surveillance and evidence-based policy. Her research supports targeted interventions, improved infection control, and strengthened diagnostic capacity to reduce under-five mortality globally.