Mount Sinai’s AMPATH Nepal Partnership has selected the recipients of its 2026 Pilot Project Awards for innovative initiatives aimed at improving health in Nepal. AMPATH Nepal is a collaboration between Dhulikhel Hospital and the Kathmandu University School for Medical Sciences (KUSMS) in Nepal, and the AMPATH network of universities and health centers led by the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Each selected project pairs a faculty or staff member at Mount Sinai and one from Dhulikhel Hospital or KUSMS, who will work together on a project to improve health in Nepal through care, research, or education. Selected from a pool of more than 30 applicants through a competitive review process modeled on the National Institutes of Health, each pair of collaborators will receive $25,000 to execute their initiative.
This year’s four projects and their leaders are:
Lead Exposure During Pregnancy in Nepal: Prevalence, Maternal-Fetal Impact, and Feasible Nutritional Risk-Reduction Strategies at Dhulikhel Hospital
Abha Shrestha, MD, Dhulikhel Hospital and KUSMS
Sheela Maru, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Global Health, and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and New York Health + Hospitals/ Elmhurst
Lead exposure during pregnancy is an important risk factor for maternal and child health but is understudied in Nepal. This project will generate systematic data in Nepal on lead exposure during pregnancy. The project will integrate lead screening into routine prenatal care at Dhulikhel Hospital, conduct a survey of environmental exposures, and pilot a community health worker (CHW)-led risk-reduction program. This will help the team identify key exposure risks and develop practical strategies to prevent lead-related harm to mothers and infants. The team’s findings will inform CHW training and provide data needed to integrate environmental health into Nepal’s national prenatal care protocols.
Code Safety: Piloting a Comprehensive Institutional Framework for Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention at Dhulikhel Hospital Kathmandu University Hospital
Sulekha Shrestha, MS, Dhulikhel Hospital and KUSMS
Kaleena Soorma, DNP, RN, REA-BC, Director, Patient Care Services, Mount Sinai West
This project will pilot a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program to protect health care workers at Dhulikhel Hospital. Moving beyond traditional training-only models, the innovative Code Safety Framework integrates staff support, leadership accountability, incident monitoring, and organizational response systems to create a sustainable culture of safety. The project will look at the feasibility and effectiveness of a comprehensive workplace violence reporting and response framework, potentially offering a new model to implement in institutions across Nepal.
Building Sustainable Rheumatology Capacity at Dhulikhel Hospital: A Mount Sinai and AMPATH Nepal Partnership to Improve Clinical Care, Education, and Service Development
Biplav Adhikari, MD, Dhulikhel Hospital and KUSMS
Yousaf Ali, MBBS, Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology), Icahn School of Medicine
There is an unmet need for rheumatology care at Dhulikhel Hospital and in Nepal more broadly. By establishing Dhulikhel Hospital’s first prospective rheumatic disease registry, expanding clinician training through international mentorship, and implementing a coordinated rheumatology clinic, the initiative will improve access to timely diagnosis and multidisciplinary care for patients with rheumatologic diseases. The project will also generate foundational data on disease burden and diagnostic delays at Dhulikhel Hospital, while creating a sustainable model for delivering rheumatology care in resource-limited settings.
Establishing a Sustainable Hub-and-Spoke Model for Early CKD Detection and Risk-Stratified Management in Nepal
Deepak Sharma, MD, Dhulikhel Hospital and KUSMS
Miriam Chung, MD, Associate Professor, Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine
This project will implement chronic kidney disease (CKD) care at community clinics supported by a central specialty care center at Dhulikhel Hospital, establishing and evaluating a new “hub-and-spoke” model for CKD care in Nepal. The new approach will address a growing public health challenge: early-stage kidney disease is often silent, only diagnosed once people have already suffered significant organ damage and related health challenges. By integrating routine kidney screening into existing non-communicable disease services and standardizing criteria and protocols for referral to the specialty center, the initiative aims to prevent CKD or diagnose it in its early stages as often as possible. The project will strengthen local capacity for CKD care, expand early disease detection, and generate data to help scale up a similar model for kidney care throughout Nepal.