Nishan Katuwal
About
I am currently pursing my PhD at Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine under Prof. Dr. Trude Helen Flo.
Also, I am working as Molecular Biologist. Bioinformatician and Incharge of Molecular and Genome Sequencing Research Lab & Project Manager at Center for Infectious Disease Research and Surveillance, Research and Development Division of Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital. I received my MS in Biotechnology from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway, specialising in nanomedicine and pharmaceutical rheology. My current research background is in infectious disease investigation, genomics, bioinformatics, pathogen surveillance and serology. At DHUKUH, I am involved in various projects, as researcher, principal investigator and co-investigator, focused in infectious disease investigation that includes SARSCOV2, AES, SHAPU, Typhoid, HPV, HEV, HAV, Dengue and respiratory viruses, among others.
Research
· Integrated Surveillance of Dengue in Nepal, funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). Role: Co-Investigator
· Leveraging Illumina iSeq100 for Whole Genome Sequencing of Salmonella Typhi: a practical approach for resource-limited setting, funded by Center for Infectious Disease Research and Surveillance. Role: Principal Investigator
· Children’s Lung Study in Dhulikhel, Nepal (C-LUNG), funded by Research Council of Norway. Role: Co-Investigator/Molecular Biologist/Project Manager
· Molecular Investigation of DENV Serotypes in the dengue outbreak of 2022 in Nepal, funded by the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) under Provincial Health Research Grants 2079/2080. Role: Principal Investigator
· Investigation of Global HPV Burden, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), in collaboration with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Karolinska Institutet (KI), and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Role: Co-Investigator/Nepal Site Lab Lead
· Immunogenomic surveillance of SHAPU (Seasonal Hyperacute Pan-Uveitis), funded by University Grant Commission (UGC), Nepal. Role: Co-Investigator/Researcher
· Deciphering Whole Genomic Sequence of SARS-CoV-2 using NGS in COVID-19 patients of Nepal, in collaboration with the NHRC and the Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal (MoHP). Role: Co-Investigator/Researcher
· Application of mNGS to Identify Etiology of Fatal Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Nepal, under the Grand Challenge Explorations from the BMGF. We have received second round of funding to continue this work. Role: Co-Investigator/Researcher
· Study on Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E in Nepal, funded by the IVI and BMGF. Role: Co-Investigator/Researcher.
· Serological Epidemiology and Environment Surveillance (Nepal) in collaboration with Stanford University and the Sabin Vaccine Institute, funded by BMGF. Role: Research Project Coordinator
· Analysis of Serum YncE responses in patients with S. Typhi/Paratyphi carriage following elective cholecystectomy in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) funded by National Institute of Health (NIH). Role: Research Project Coordinator
· Promoting Sustainable Development in Bioinformatics to Support Public Health in Nepal, funded by the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology, South Africa. Role: Co-Investigator/Bio-informatician
Publications
- Verwey, C., Dongol, S., Shahi, R., Islam, MS., Katuwal, N., Haug, M., Flo, TH., Shrestha, R., Risnes, R. Pulmonary Function Testing using Tidal Breath Flow-Volume Loops in Healthy Children 1-24 months of age in semi-rural Nepal: Feasibility Study. Authorea. [Preprint] 13 August 2025. https://doi.org/10.22541/au.175510997.77254111/v1 [Preprint] [Submitted to Pediatric Pulmonology, under review]
- Telele, N. F., Katuwal, N., Kabir, F., Rahman, S., Shahi, S. B., Yadav, R. R., Aziz, F., Hossain, M. A., Hill, A., Permatasari, I., Lee, Y., Cho, H., Lee, J., You, Y. A., Ahn, H. S., Park, S., Tamrakar, D., Pasha, A., Alam, A., Ejaz, M., Nisar, M. I.,… Unger, E. R. Comparison of self‑collected vaginal swabs and first‑void urine for detection of human papillomavirus in sexually active girls and women in three South Asian countries (Version 2). medRxiv. [Preprint] 1 August 2025. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.01.25332560 [Second Author] [Preprint] [Submitted to PLOS One, under review]
Tamrakar D, Naga S, Jung E, Shrestha B, Bista Roka P, Pokharel RS, Shah SB, Bajracharya AT, Mahadup S, Katuwal N, Doyle K, Seidman J, Carter A, Luby S, Bogoch I, Aiemjoy K, Garrett D, Andrews J, Shrestha R. Impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic and typhoid conjugate vaccine introduction on typhoid fever in Nepal. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jun 18. https://doi:10.1101/2025.06.17.25329748 [Preprint]
- Seidman JC, Aiemjoy K, Adnan M, Dehraj IF, Iqbal J, Iqbal K, Irfan S, Islam N, Kabir MS, Katuwal N, Maria N, Memon MA, Munira SJ, Naga SR, Pradhan S, Sarkar A, Shrestha R, … Charles RC. Evaluating the accuracy of Salmonella Typhi Hemolysin E and lipopolysaccharide IgA to discriminate enteric fever from other febrile illnesses in South Asia. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jun 22. https://doi:10.1101/2025.06.20.25329792 [Preprint] [Submitted to Emerging Infectious Diseases, under review]
- Bhatt, R.D., Karmacharya, B.M., Shrestha, A. Timalsena D, Madhup S, Shahi R, Katuwal N, Shrestha R, Fitzpatrick AL, Risal P. Prevalence of MTHFR C677T polymorphism and its association with serum homocysteine and blood pressure among different ethnic groups: insights from a cohort study of Nepal. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders. 2025, 25, 235. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-025-04690-z
- Chi M and Katuwal N., Shrestha, A. et al. Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of dengue virus in Central Nepal from 2022 to 2023. BMC Glob. Public Health. 2025; 3 (18). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-025-00135-z [Co-First Author, Equal Contribution]
- Poudel L, Adhikari B,…..Katuwal N, Karmacharya BM, Shrestha A. Assessment of Home Isolation Measures and Factors Associated with Adherence Among Patients During the Pandemic in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study. Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health. Jan 2025. Vol 13 (6). ISSN# 2277-9604
- Rhee C, Dighe A, Katuwal N, Cho H, Mraidi R, Tamrakar D, Lim JK, Poudyal N, Park IY, Kim DR, Amatya R, Shrestha R, Azman AS, Lynch J. Geospatial distribution of Hepatitis E seroprevalence in Nepal, 2021. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024 Dec 23;18(12):e0012746. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012746. PMID: 39715282; PMCID: PMC11706507.
- Katuwal N, Naga SR, Shrestha A, Shahi SB, Tamrakar D, Shrestha R. Leveraging Illumina iSeq100 for Whole Genome Sequencing of Salmonella Typhi: a practical approach for resource-limited setting. medRxiv. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.09.22.24314150 [First Author] [accepted and under production at Scientific Reports]
-Bhattarai, Sankalpa and Silwal, Ram Chandra and Haider, Najmul and Papakonstantinou, Danai and Lamichhane Dhimal, Mandira and Katuwal, Nishan and Dhakal, Anjana and Dahal, Gokarna and Tuladhar, Reshma and Banjara, Megha Raj and Dixit, Sameer Mani and Tamrakar, Dipesh and Dhimal, Meghnath and Karna, Ajit Kumar and Gharty Chhetri, Ganga and Shrestha, Rajeev and Price, Helen and Shepherd, Thomas and Paudyal, Priyamvada, Findings from the Interdisciplinary Consultative Workshop on the Prevention, Early Detection, and Control of Dengue in Nepal (August 31, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4955351; http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4955351 [Preprint]
- Kharel RS, Shrestha R, Karki P, Gurung H, KC AK, Katuwal N….Upadhyaya MP. Advanced diagnostic approaches for SHAPU: Metagenomic sequencing and interleukin analysis. AJO International. 2024. 1: 100056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajoint.2024.100056
- Shrestha R and Katuwal N….Gupta BP, Jha R. Investigation of acute encephalitis syndrome with implementation of metagenomic next generation sequencing in Nepal. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2024. 24:734. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-024-09628-y [Co-First Author, Equal Contribution]
- Katuwal N, Thapa M……Aiemjoy K. Hepatitis E in Kathmandu Valley: Insights from a Representative Longitudinal Serosurvey. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 18(8): e0012375. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012375 [First Author]
- Katuwal N, Shrestha A,…….Shrestha R. Molecular Investigation of DENV Serotypes in the dengue outbreak of 2022 in Nepal. Kathmandu Univ Med J. 2024;85(1):99-106. PMID: 39324467 [First Author]
-Aiemjoy K, Katuwal N, Vaidya K, Shrestha S, Thapa M, Teunis P, Bogoch II, Trowbridge P, Blacksell SD, Paris DH, Wangrangsimakul T, Varghese GM, Maude RJ, Tamrakar D, Andrews JR. Estimating the Seroincidence of Scrub Typhus using Antibody Dynamics after Infection. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2024 Jun 11:tpmd230475. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.23-0475 PMID: 38861980. [Second Author]
-Jha BK, Katuwal N, Manandhar KD. Genomic Analysis of Circulating Influenza Virus from 2016 in Nepal. Research Square. April 2024. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4194644/v1 [Second Author] [Preprint]
- Shrestha E and Katuwal N…..Shrestha R. Investigation of the causative pathogen in the 2023 conjunctivitis outbreak of Nepal using unbiased metagenomic next generation sequencing. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.16.24305920 [Co-First Author, Equal Contribution]
-Shrestha S, Da Silva KE, Shakya J, Yu AT, Katuwal N, Shrestha R, Shakya M, Shahi SB, Naga SR, LeBoa C, Aiemjoy K, Bogoch II, Saha S, Tamrakar D, Andrews JR. Detection of Salmonella Typhi bacteriophages in surface waters as a scalable approach to environmental surveillance. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024 Feb 8;18(2):e0011912. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011912 PMID: 38329937; PMCID: PMC10852241.
-LeBoa C, Shrestha S……Katuwal N,……Tamrakar D. Environmental surveillance for typhoidal Salmonellas in household and surface waters in Nepal identifies potential transmission pathways. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 2023. 17(10): e0011341. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011341
- Katuwal N, Tamrakar D, Shrestha R. Application of hAMRonization tool in investigating anti-microbial resistance genes and generate harmonized reports. Kathmandu University Medical Journal. 2023; 21(3). PMID: 39206654 [First Author]
- Tamrakar D and Katuwal N…..Shrestha R. Genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 circulating during Second and Third Wave of COVID-19 in Nepal. Journal of Nepal Health Research Council. 2023; 21(1), 57-62. PMID: 37742150 [Co-First Author, Equal Contribution]
- Tamrakar D, Katuwal N…Shrestha R. COVID 19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infection among Health Care Workers: A Single Centre Study In Nepal. Kathmandu University Medical Journal. 2023; 21(2): 311-317. PMID: 38628009 [Second Author]
-Adhikari B, Poudel L, ... Katuwal N, Shrestha S. Prevalence and factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among home isolated COVID-19 patients in Western Nepal. Dialogues in Health. 2023; 2:100090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dialog.2022.100090
-Koju P, Shrestha R,....Katuwal N…..Shrestha SS. Antimicrobial Resistance in E. coli Isolated from Chicken Cecum Samples and Factors Contributing to Antimicrobial Resistance in Nepal. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2022; 7(9):249. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7090249
-Shrestha A, Shrestha R,..Katuwal N,..Shrestha SS. The Resistance Patterns in E. coli Isolates among Apparently Healthy Adults and Local Drivers of Antimicrobial Resistance: A Mixed-Methods Study in a Suburban Area of Nepal. Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2022, 7(7), 133. https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed7070133
- Aiemjoy K, Seidman JC, Saha S,...Katuwal N,….Charles RC, Andrews JR. Estimating Typhoid incidence from community based serosurveys: a multicohort study. Lancet Microbe. 2022: 3(8); e578-e587. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(22)00114-8
- Madhup SK, Shrestha R, Katuwal N, Magar SR, Shrestha S, Bhandari S, et al. Seroprevalence of Scrub Typhus in patients attending Dhulikhel Hospital, Kavre. Kathmandu Univ Med J. 2021: 76(4); 494-98. PMID: 36259194
- Ranjit S, Katuwal N. Trends in Bloodstream Infection in Tertiary Care Hospital: A Retrospective Cross-sectional Study. J. Nep. Med. Col. 2021: 2(19); 48-52. https://doi.org/10.3126/jngmc.v19i2.42992 [Second Author]
- Madhup SK, Shrestha R, Panta R, Chauguthi L, Katuwal N, Shrestha S. Prevalence of pathogenic bacteria in meat products and their antimicrobial resistance pattern. Ann. Clin. Chem. Lab. Med. 2021:4(1); 13-19. https://doi.org/10.3126/acclm.v4i1.42676
- Ranjit, S., Katuwal, N., & Ranjit, S. Bacteriology and antibiotic sensitivity patterns in ventilator-associated pneumonia. Journal of Chitwan Medical College. 2021;11(38), 9–13. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JCMC/article/view/41689 [Second Author]
- Shrestha R and Katuwal N, Adhikari N, Vanaerschot, M, Tamrakar D, Dhimal M, et al. Whole Genome Sequence Analysis to Identify SARS-CoV-2 Variant in Nepal. Kathmandu Univ Med J. 2021;74(2):237-42. PMID: 34819443 [Co-First Author, Equal Contribution]
- N. Katuwal, B. Loretz, K. Thanki, M. Hållbrink, C.M. Lehr, C. Foged, K. I. Draget, and C. T. Nordgård. Potential mucus rheological consequences of off-target siRNA loaded nanoparticle deposition in the lungs. Annual Transactions of the Nordic Rheology Society, 2018. vol. 26. [First Author]
2018
-
Katuwal, Nishan;
Loretz, Brigitte;
Thanki, Kaushik;
Hållbrink, Mattias;
Lehr, Claus-Michael;
Foged, Camilla.
(2018)
Potential mucus rheological consequences of off target siRNA loaded nanoparticle deposition in the lungs.
Annual Transactions - The Nordic Rheology Society
Academic article
Journal publications
-
Katuwal, Nishan;
Loretz, Brigitte;
Thanki, Kaushik;
Hållbrink, Mattias;
Lehr, Claus-Michael;
Foged, Camilla.
(2018)
Potential mucus rheological consequences of off target siRNA loaded nanoparticle deposition in the lungs.
Annual Transactions - The Nordic Rheology Society
Academic article
Teaching
A) 16 August 2017- 31 March 2019: Program Co-ordinator/Lab Co-ordinator and Lecturer, Kantipur Valley College, Lalitpur (Nepal)
Responsibilities:
-Lecturing undergraduate students on “Genetic Engineering”, “Molecular Biology”, “Chemistry-I”, “Marketing and Management”, +2 students on “Organic Chemistry” and conducting laboratory courses
-planning/organising (class schedule, exam schedule, guest lectures, workshops)
-supervising and guiding (lectures, laboratory experiments, exam activities);
-performing (designing lab layout, recruiting lecturers, creating and designing academic year, lecturing undergraduate students);
-maintaining PR relation (work closely with university personnel, student representatives, regular meetings with teachers and collaborators).
B) 16 July 2017- 31 March 2019: Lecturer, College of Applied Food and Dairy Technology, Kathmandu, Nepal
Responsibilities:
- Lecturing undergraduate students on "Food Process Engineering I", "Instrumental Methods of Food Analysis" and “Modern Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering”
- Conducting laboratory courses for respective subjects
Supervision
July 2018- December 2018: Research Project Supervisor
Supervised research project titled “Production of wine from plum fruit and testing its antimicrobial as well as antioxidant activities” at College of Applied Food and Dairy Technology (CAFODAT), Minbhawan, Kathmandu, to B.Tech Food and Dairy Technology undergraduate students
Project Activities and Responsibilities:
- Production of wine in different batches
- Using various microbial samples to assay the antimicrobial activity against
- Assessing qualitative as well as quantitative antioxidant nature of the wine
April 2022- October 2022: Research Project Supervisor
Supervised research project titled “Microbiological and Molecular Identification of Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi A from food and drinking water sources in Lalitpur district” at Kantipur Valley College, Laltipur, to B.Tech Biotechnology undergraduate students
Project Activities and Responsibilities:
- Sample Collection and microbial culture
- Extraction of DNA from water samples and subsequent detection via qPCR