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Bangladesh’s Dr. Tahmid Ahmed among Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in global health
The prestigious US-based magazine ‘Time’ has included Dr. Tahmid Ahmed, Executive Bangladesh’s Dr Director of ICDDRB, in its list of ‘100 Most Influential People in Global Health’ for 2025.
Bangladesh’s Dr. Tahmid Ahmed among Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in global health
The magazine has given this honor in recognition of his pioneering contribution to solving health problems in maternal and child health, nutrition, and resource-limited regions through paradigm-based solutions. Under Tahmid Ahmed’s leadership, ICDDRB has reached millions of people around the world, including Bangladesh, through cutting-edge research and life-saving interventions, and has strengthened global partnerships.
Dr. Tahmid Ahmed’s achievement was announced in a press release issued by ICDDRB on Thursday.
Tahmid Ahmed will join other nominees at the ‘TIME 100 Impact Dinner: Leaders Shaping the Future of Health’ event in New York, USA, on May 13 (Tuesday). In line with TIME’s long-standing tradition, he will deliver an inspiring speech there. This statement will also be published on Time’s editorial and social media platforms.
On the occasion of this outstanding recognition, Tahmid Ahmed said, “It is a matter of great pride to be included in Time’s list of 100 Most Influential People in Health 2025. This achievement is not mine alone, but it is the responsibility of all ICDDRB scientists, staff, global partners and our service recipients. I am deeply grateful for the recognition and importance that TIME has given me. I hope that such recognition will help to increase investment in the fight against malnutrition and health research, which will not be a war or conflict, but will work for justice, health and human dignity.”
A press release issued by ICDDRB said that Tahmid Ahmed’s recognition is not only a personal achievement, but also an inspiration for young scientists and researchers from Bangladesh to work hard and dedicatedly in Bangladesh and contribute to the international arena.
It will also be published in the May 26, 2025 issue of Time.
The Time report on Dr. Tahmid Ahmed’s contribution is highlighted in full:
Dr. When Tahmid Ahmed graduated from medical school in his home country of Bangladesh and started seeing patients, he kept encountering a problem that his medical knowledge could not fully solve. “I used to treat patients suffering from diarrhea and malnutrition. It was very frustrating to treat children in particular. Some of the children would die,” says Dr. Tahmid. “Despite our best efforts and good intentions, there was not much we could do.”
Tahmid Ahmed is now the Executive Director of ICDDRB. When he started his career here, he set out to find a solution to this problem. It was there that he met Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, a professor at Washington University in the United States, over a breakfast table in 2009. Gordon was researching how bacteria in the human gut differentiate between obesity and malnutrition. They wondered: Could these microorganisms hold the key to new treatments for malnutrition?
