Dr. Theekshana Fernando, DrPH, MBBS, MPH, CHES®, is a health workforce and systems researcher at the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University at Albany. His research focuses on the health workforce and its impact on equitable access to care, specifically for underserved and vulnerable communities. His additional research interests include health equity, maternal and child health, immigrant and refugee health, oral health systems, health policy, and strategic planning.
Dr. Fernando excels at collaborative research, grounded in sustained partnerships across academia, government agencies, professional associations, and community-based organizations. At the Center for Health Workforce Studies, he conducts and contributes to multi-year, multi-investigator, sponsor-funded research initiatives translating complex quantitative and qualitative data into actionable, evidence-based strategies designed to inform policymaking, guide regulatory reform, and support system-level policy modification at the state and national levels.
Dr. Fernando is a physician trained at the Institute of Medicine at Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. His experiences providing clinical care to vulnerable populations inspired his transition into public health. Having lived, trained, and worked in England, Nepal, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the United States, he brings a global, culturally responsive perspective to his work and remains committed to lifelong learning and advancing evidence-based, equity-driven health systems reform.