Ms. Leena Uppal is a public health researcher and programme leader whose work integrates gender, social justice, and evidence-based innovation to strengthen health systems for vulnerable populations. Her professional experience reflects sustained leadership in designing, implementing, and evaluating multi-sectoral research programmes focused on adolescent health, HIV prevention and treatment, sexual and reproductive health and rights, reproductive justice, and gender-responsive development. She has contributed significantly to community-centered and digital health interventions that improve access to prevention, testing, treatment, and counselling services among adolescents, key populations, and marginalized communities. Her research practice emphasizes participatory methods, capacity building of civil society and community-based organizations, and the translation of evidence into policy-relevant tools and recommendations. A notable aspect of her work is the use of mobile and digital platforms to enhance health literacy, peer education, and self-learning, particularly among young people and underserved groups across diverse sociocultural settings. Her scholarship on infertility and childlessness addresses an under-recognized public health concern and has informed the development of practical screening approaches to support early identification, referral, and equitable care. She has collaborated with national and international institutions to advance knowledge generation, programme innovation, and implementation science, contributing to peer-reviewed publications, policy analyses, and applied research outputs. Overall, her professional profile reflects a strong alignment between research excellence and real-world impact, with a continued focus on advancing health equity, strengthening community engagement, and embedding research findings into sustainable programmes and public health practice.
Profiles: Scopus | Orcid | Google Scholar
Featured Publications
Garg, P. R., Uppal, L., Mehra, S., & Mehra, D. (2020). Mobile health app for self-learning on HIV prevention knowledge and services among a young Indonesian key population: A cohort study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 8(9), e17646.
Garg, P. R., Uppal, L., Kurian, K., Heng, T., Akhtar, F., & Mehra, S. (2023). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness, willingness to use, and preferred places for access among Cambodian female entertainment workers: A cross-sectional study. AIDS and Behavior, 27(5), 1409–1417.
Garg, P. R., Uppal, L., & Mehra, S. (2024). Family planning and young and low parity couples: Learnings from rural India. In Sexual and reproductive health. IntechOpen.
Uppal, U. G. L. (2024). Reducing age of consent for HIV testing for minors (16–18 years) without mandatory parental consent (in special situations) in India. Indian Journal of Youth and Adolescent Health, 11(1), 20–24.
Uppal, L., & Bhardwaj, N. (n.d.). A community-based approach to identifying reproductive health challenges: The case of Rajasthan.