Dr Shaikh trained as a Radiologist and holds Masters of Public Health (MPH), and a Doctorate (PhD) in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. A member of United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team roster, and a U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) certified response professional for Chemical, Biological, and Radio-Nuclear Emergencies (CBRNEs), Dr Shaikh has been with WHO Health Emergencies (WHE) Program for the European region (EURO) since early 2017. Within WHO he has previously also served as the Regional Advisor for Emergency and Humanitarian Action (EHA), and for the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) and Epidemiological Surveillance for the Regional Office for Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO). In USA, DR Shaikh served in leadership level positions at Federal, State, and Local levels at U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) where he was also a recipient of the coveted Charles E Shepard Science Award in Assessment and Epidemiology, and State Health Departments in Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. Holding a faculty appointment at the Johns Hopkins University since year 2000, he has taught Health Information Systems, Public Health Surveillance, Problem Solving in Public Health, and Clinical Epidemiology. He has facilitated emergency trainings and simulation exercises for U.S. Government at Federal and State levels, and WHO, and has authored/co-authored book chapters, and over 30 peer-reviewed publications in leading international health journals in areas of global health/health security, and public health emergency management. His other key awards and honors include Fulbright Scholar for the East-West Center, Hawaii, Scholar, Public Health Leadership Institute (PHLI) of the U.S. CDC and University of California at Berkeley, and Fellow, Next Einstein Forum (NEF), a global initiative of the National Science Foundation (NSF), USA and Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.