Executive Board
Buddha Basnyat, MD
President
Dr. Basnyat obtained his masters in respiratory physiology from the University of Calgary, Canada, and later an Internal Medicine residency from the Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, US. He is the past president of the International Society of Mountain Medicine (ISMM). For over a decade he was a professor of physiology at the Institute of Medicine, TU Teaching Hospital. He currently leads the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit- Nepal based at Patan Hospital. His research interest lies in working with young clinicians in the study of high altitude illness and undifferentiated febrile illness in the tropics, both common and neglected problems in Nepal. He also serves as the medical director of the Himalaya Rescue Association.
Ghan Bahadur Thapa, MD
Vice-President
Dr. Thapa is currently working as a General Practitioner and Emergency Medicine Physician at Grande Hospital, Kathmandu. He completed his Nepalese Diploma in Mountain Medicine in 2012 and his International Diploma in Mountain Emergency Medicine in 2014. Dr. Thapa served as the Treasurer of this society for 4 years (2016-2020). His areas of interest include emergency medicine, high-altitude medicine, and research.
Santosh Baniya, MD
Secretary
Dr. Baniya is an Emergency medicine physician at the Western Regional Hospital, Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences, Pokhara. He trained in General Practice and Emergency Medicine at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, IOM, Kathmandu from where he also completed his medical school. He got his Diploma in Mountain Medicine in 2016 from Nepal and his Diploma in Global Health in 2016 from the Institute of Medicine, Nepal. He has already served as the joint secretary for 4 years (2016-2020). Dr. Baniya worked as the local organizing chairperson for the XII ISMM World Congress on Mountain Medicine in 2018. Currently, he is also serving as the vice president of the International Society for Mountain Medicine for the 2021-2025 term.
Suvash Dawadi, MD
Treasurer
Dr. Dawadi is a General Practitioner currently working at CIWEC Hospital and Travel Medicine Center. He completed his entire medical training including a residency program in General practice and Emergency Medicine from the Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. His special interests lie in travel medicine, sports medicine, expedition medicine, and high-altitude medicine. He completed his Diploma in Mountain Medicine in Nepal in 2014 and currently serves as a faculty in this course. He has worked as a volunteer doctor for Everest ER, a tent aid post at the Everest Base Camp in 2018. He has also worked as an expedition doctor on Lobuche East and Kilimanjaro as well as for multiple high-altitude trail races including the Manaslu and Mustang trail races. His work at CIWEC provides him a unique position to be able to practice travel health issues including but not limited to high altitude travel. He has been a speaker and presenter at various national and international conferences including the ISMM World Congress on Mountain Medicine 2018, 2021 as well as the World Extreme Medicine Conference 2021.
Suman Acharya, MD
Joint Secretary
Dr. Acharya is currently pursuing his post-graduate training in internal medicine at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, IOM. He graduated from the same institution in 2017. He previously served as an executive body member at the society for the 2016-2020 term. He also completed his Diploma in Mountain Medicine in 2017 from Nepal. He has worked as an expedition and trail race doctor across various expeditions and races in the country. His areas of interest include emergency medicine, critical care medicine, high-altitude medicine, and medical education.
Pranawa Koirala, MD
Member
Dr. Koirala is a Nepali doctor trained in Emergency Medicine and currently works in the US. Emergency healthcare in Nepal and mountain medicine are his passions and he believes that improvement in the current scenario can only happen with an all-inclusive effort. When he is not thinking about healthcare in Nepal or working in the ED, he usually likes to be outdoors, running, biking, or hiking.
Santosh Timalsina, MD
Member
Dr. Timalsina is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Chitwan Medical College after completing his post-graduate training in Clinical Biochemistry at the Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu. He completed his Diploma in Mountain Medicine in 2012 from Nepal and his Diploma in Global Health in 2010 from the University of Tampere, Finland. He is currently overseeing the activities of MMSN at Chitwan Medical College. His area of interest is clinico-biochemical research, global health, and high-altitude medicine.
Samriddha Raj Pant, MBBS
Member
Dr. Pant is a medical graduate from the Institute of Medicine and a DiMM graduate from the 2019 batch. He has served MMSN as Outdoor Activities Coordinator in 2018, and as the editor of MMSN Newsletters in 2018 and 2019. He has volunteered at the HRA Pheriche Aid Post and led the Gosaikunda health camp. He was also a part of the organizing committee for the XII ISMM World Congress 2018. He was also a volunteer doctor at the Everest ER in 2022. His areas of interest include emergency and high-altitude medicine.
Anupama Bhattarai, MBBS
Member
Dr. Bhattarai has been an active member of MMSN since her early medical school days. She was also the academic activities coordinator for the year 2019/20. She has volunteered at the Pheriche Aid post and has been a part of the health camps in Gosaikunda. She loves mountains and also loves to serve the better health of all those who love mountains. She believes she may not be able to conquer the mountains that she saw growing up but wishes to help all those who dream about conquering them.
Rajesh Sharma, MBBS
Member
Dr. Sharma is an intern doctor at Maharajgunj Medical Campus, TUTH, IOM. He volunteered as a medical student in the high-altitude health camp in Gosainkunda in 2018. He was also a part of the organizing committee of the XII ISMM World Congress in 2018. His interests include mountain medicine, emergency medicine, global health, and health economics.
Saramshika Dhakal
Member
Ms. Saramshika Dhakal is currently a medical student at Maharajgunj Medical Campus. She has been to Gosainkunda Health Camp in 2019 which attracted her more toward altitude medicine. While not studying medicine, she enjoys reading philosophy and literature, playing guitars, and listening to podcasts.