Dristy Gurung, M.Sc.

Dristy Gurung, M.Sc., is the co-investigator and project manager for the NIH-funded R01 grant Reducing Stigma among Healthcare Providers to Improve Mental Health Services (RESHAPE, #R01MH120649) and the country lead for the International Study of Discrimination And Stigma Outcomes (INDIGO, # MR/R023697/1) at a nonprofit organization called Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal. She did her M.Sc. in global mental health from King’s College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at King’s College London with a focus on developing measurement framework for mental health-related structural stigma in low- and middle-income countries focusing on what matters most to people with lived experiences, stigma researchers, and policy makers. 

She has a keen interest in understanding and reducing discrimination within health systems, which has led to collaboration and co-production with people with lived experiences of mental health conditions. She recently worked as a commissioner on the “Lancet Commission on ending stigma and discrimination in mental health,” and chaired the launch event of the commission report, which was hosted by the World Health Organization. Her work not only focuses on promoting inclusivity within mental health systems but also in other areas of global health, such as addressing the geographical and gender disparities or gaps within the health and research workforce.