Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, executive director of icddr,b, has been named to the 2025 TIME100 Health list -- the annual list by TIME magazine recognizing 100 most influential individuals in global health – published yesterday. 

Under Dr Tahmeed's leadership, icddr,b has strengthened its global impact through cutting-edge research and lifesaving interventions that have reached millions across Bangladesh and beyond, according to an icddr,b press release.

On May 13, Dr Tahmeed will join fellow honourees at the TIME100 Impact Dinner: Leaders Shaping the Future of Health in New York, where he has also been invited to deliver a toast -- a TIME tradition spotlighting voices shaping the future of global health. His remarks will be featured editorially and across TIME's social platforms.

His selection not only honours his own achievements, but also serves as an inspiration to young Bangladeshi scientists and researchers, demonstrating that through hard work, passion, and unwavering dedication, they too can earn a place on the global stage, the press release added.

Dr Tahmeed said, "It is a profound honour to be included in TIME's 2025 Health100 list.

"This recognition is not mine alone -- it belongs to the brilliant scientists and staff of icddr,b, to our collaborators around the world, and to the communities we serve."

He added, "I am deeply grateful to TIME for this spotlight, which I hope will help bring greater urgency to the fight against malnutrition and the need to invest in science that improves lives -- not in war, conflict, or division, but in equity, health, and human dignity."

In 2021, Dr Tahmeed Ahmed became the first Bangladeshi in history to be appointed executive director of icddr,b, a renowned international public health research organisation.

Tahmeed, who obtained his medical degree from Mymensingh Medical College, joined the organisation in 1985. Over the years, he has held various roles and was appointed senior director of the Nutrition and Clinical Services Division in December 2015.

A celebrated scientist with a distinguished career in public health nutrition, Tahmeed has earned global recognition for his research and vital contributions to preventing childhood malnutrition and simplifying its treatment.

He has received numerous awards from health organisations, including the Ambulatory Paediatric Association in the United States, the Commonwealth Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, and the Indian Paediatric Association.

In 2018, he won the Islamic Development Bank's Transformers Roadshow award. The Gates Foundation honoured Dr Tahmeed as one of its Goalkeepers Champions in 2024.

The 2025 TIME100 Health list also includes the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton; US Olympic athlete Ilona Maher; former NBA player Dwyane Wade; CEO of Eli Lilly David Ricks; Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese; CEO of GSK Emma Walmsley; philanthropist and founder of Pivotal Ventures Melinda French Gates; World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; actor and advocate Colin Farrell; US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr; actors and Hilarity for Charity founders Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen; activist Rachel Sweet; science educator and television host Bill Nye; CEO of Novartis Vas Narasimhan; Apple's vice president of health Sumbul Desai; Global Health Council president Elisha Dunn-Georgiou; and US FDA commissioner Marty Makary, among others.