Medical Qualification: MD, FIDSA

Designation: Senior Consultant, Infectious Diseases

Areas of expertise:

• Infectious Diseases
• Tropical Medicine

Dr. Mala Kaneria, MD, FIDSA, is a Senior Consultant in Infectious Diseases at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai, and one of India's leading infectious disease specialists with over three decades of experience in clinical care, research, medical education, and infection prevention.
She completed her MBBS (1990) and MD in Internal Medicine (1993) from Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital (Sion Hospital), Mumbai. She joined B. Y. L. Nair Charitable Hospital and T. N. Medical College as faculty in 1994, where she still serves as Professor and Unit Head (also at Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases) playing a pivotal role in advancing infectious diseases services, teaching, and research.

In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the specialty, Dr. Kaneria has been awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (FIDSA). She serves as a reviewer for Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID), the official journal of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and as an abstract reviewer for IDWeek, the premier international conference in Infectious Diseases. She has also been invited faculty at IDWeek (USA), reflecting her international academic recognition.

Her clinical expertise encompasses the diagnosis and management of a broad spectrum of infectious diseases, including tropical infections such as malaria, dengue, leptospirosis, typhoid, chikungunya, tuberculosis, and other vector-borne illnesses. She has extensive experience in managing complex bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections, including hydatid disease, cysticercosis, amoebiasis, filariasis, brucellosis and Epstein-Barr virus infections.
Dr. Kaneria has a special interest in infections affecting immunocompromised patients, including recipients of bone marrow and solid organ transplants, as well as people living with HIV/AIDS. She has particular expertise in opportunistic infections, pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis, fever of unknown origin, transplant-related infections, healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial stewardship, and infections in special populations such as older adults, pregnant women, patients with diabetes, and other immunocompromised individuals.
She has been actively involved in infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship throughout her career. As Infection Control Coordinator of the Hospital Infection Control Committee (HICC) at Nair Hospital and Jaslok Hospital, she played an important role in developing the Antibiotic Guidelines for the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).
A dedicated clinician-scientist, Dr. Kaneria has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in national and international journals and has served as Principal Investigator for several clinical research studies. She was Guest Editor of the Journal of General Medicine for nine years and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India (JAPI).
An accomplished teacher and mentor, she has guided more than 25 postgraduate research theses and has trained generations of undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental students. She is also a recognized undergraduate and postgraduate examiner for the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS).
Dr. Kaneria is an active member of several national and international professional organizations, including the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), Association of Physicians of India (API), Clinical Infectious Diseases Society (CIDS), Hospital Infection Society–Mumbai Forum (HIS-MF), Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM), and the Maharashtra Chapter of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology (MAHAISG).

Awards 

• Fellowship of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (FIDSA)
• Invited Faculty, IDWeek (USA)
• Reviewer, Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID), IDSA
• Abstract Reviewer, IDWeek
• Fellowship of Indian College of Physicians (FICP)
• Dr. J. C. Patel–Dr. B. C. Mehta JAPI Award (2005) for Atypical Presentation of Visceral Leishmaniasis
• First Prize, 2nd Infectious Diseases Certificate Course (IDCC), P. D. Hinduja Hospital (2005)
• Research Grant Award for Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhoea, Maharashtra Chapter of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology (2009)
• M. J. Shah Award, APICON 2010, Jaipur, for research on procalcitonin in febrile patients
• J. N. Karbhase Rotating Shield (Second Prize) for presentations on DRESS syndrome and splenic microabscesses in HIV.