Akarsh Venkatasubramanian

Akarsh Venkatasubramanian is a biomedical engineer, science diplomat, international civil servant and yoga teacher from India. He is best known for helping clarify the role of science and technology for global diplomacy and health in the 21st century, by highlighting the interactions between policy, technology and society, especially during the response and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is also recognized as the first researcher to theorize the application of yoga philosophy for innovation in global health, taking guidance from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. 
==Early life and education==
Akarsh Venkatasubramanian was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, in January 1995. He received a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from Manipal University, India. 
He then completed a Master of Science in Global Health from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, which included training from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Boston University School of Public Health in Massachusetts, United States. 
==Career==
Through the United Nations system and its partner agencies, Venkatasubramanian has been recognized for his work on global governance and diplomacy, technology innovation, global health, and more. 
Venkatasubramanian trained with UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) on developing an impact evaluation model for health technology innovation. 
During the COVID-19 crisis, his viewpoint on the human rights challenges of digital COVID-19 surveillance was published by the Health and Human Rights journal, and he was involved in research on the role of digital health technologies and health data for vulnerable populations, including its effects on children 
He helped found the GRAPH Network, a multidisciplinary community of health professionals, universities, NGOs, and international organizations from over 30 countries, providing data analysis and education on public health issues.
 He contributed to the ongoing debates on global health data governance,
 and on health in the digital economy.
In April 2022 he finalized the Health Data Governance Principles, a set of health data management policies and procedures stewarded by the Transform Health Coalition.
The principles are designed to govern the management of health data with overarching directives on protecting individuals, groups, and communities in health data sharing practices, promoting the value of health data and prioritizing equity. 
In 2023, the Oxford University Press published his recommendations on national legislation for digital health, based on his work with parliamentarians and researchers in Portugal, India, Colombia and Argentina. 
Akarsh Venkatasubramanian is a globally certified Hatha yoga teacher (500 HR, Yoga Alliance), with training from the Patanjali International Yoga Foundation, Rishikesh, India, and teaches asana and pranayama to select students.
In 2023, he was recognized as the author of the first article globally to apply the fundamentals of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali to global health innovation. In a publication of the Oxford University Press, he called for governments and innovators to prioritize the privacy, agency, safety and security of people (and the data they contribute to the health system) and thereby build trust by following the ideals laid out in the first three Yamas of theYogasutras:
* Ahiṃsā (अहिंसा): Nonviolence	
* Satya (सत्य): Truthfulness
* Asteya (अस्तेय): Not stealing
==Works and co-authored peer reviewed publications==
The ILO’s role in digitally-enabled health and social systems: Clarifying the interactions between digital technologies, social protection and human rights.
The case for health data regulations.
L’enquête mondiale de l’OIT sur la discrimination liée au VIH dans le monde du travail, by International Labour Organization, 2021. 
Category:1995 births
Category:Indian people
Category:Manipal University alumni
Category:Boston University alumni
Category:Diplomats
Category:Biomedical engineers