Dr. Adhikari's current research areas include environmental air quality, exposure assessment, occupational health and safety and health promotion in work environments, environmental microbiology, and respiratory health. As the Principal Investigator (PI) on a previous CDC-NIOSH-funded R03 grant, he has examined the associations between bioaerosol exposures, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and other respiratory symptoms and conditions among farm workers. He has also supervised (PI) two other HUD and NIH-NIEHS (R21) grants on exposures to immunomodulator bioaerosols and pesticide residues in developing allergic asthma. In his recently funded NIEHS R21 multi-PI grant (2015-2018) he has explored the role of traffic related air pollutants on respiratory tract microbiome of asthmatic and non-asthmatic children. He has examined filtration efficiency of N95 respirators (masks) against airborne ultrafine particles on construction jobsites in a recently completed CPWR-NIOSH supported grant. Currently, he is overseeing two PIN (Partnership for Inclusive Innovation)-supported projects as the PI, which aim to improve indoor air quality in office buildings and reduce pesticide exposures in cotton farm adjacent areas by utilizing low-cost sustainable methods. Before joining at JPHCOPH Dr. Adhikari was also involved (Co-I) with two DoD-DTRA and U.S. Office of Naval Research funded projects on inactivation of hazardous microorganisms. He has provided peer-review service to numerous national and international journals and participated in several national and international research grant review panels of CDC (NIOSH), NIH (NIEHS and NIAID), NSF, The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Natural Environment Research Council, U.K., Estonian Research Council, Estonia, and WorkSafeBC (Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia), Canada.

 

Disciplines: Environmental Health Sciences

Teaching Interests: Environmental Health Sciences, Air Quality, Environmental Exposure and Impact assessment, Occupational Health and Hygiene