Maj. General (Dr, Prof.) Atul Kotwal is a medical professional, public health researcher, administrator and educator with significant contributions in field of Public Health, Epidemiology, Administration, Research, Teaching and Mentoring in a career spanning 36 years. He has received his MBBS, followed by MD in Preventive and Social Medicine from Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. He also holds a post-doctoral fellowship in Epidemiology from Clinical Epidemiology Unit, All India Institute of Medical Sciences & Centre of Social Medicine & Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Specializing in Health systems, Primary Health care, epidemiology, implementation research and inter-disciplinary research, Dr Kotwal has a vast experience ranging from serving in the armed forces across the levels of medical corps, to being an advisor for public health in Botswana, Africa and also providing technical support to GoI as OSD-Public Health to the Planning Commission. In his tenure as OSD to Planning Commission, Dr Kotwal was actively involved in planning and finalization of XI Five-year plan, Review of NRHM and conceptualizing urban health in addition to WASH and WCD related activities. In his tenure as an armed forces officer, as an administrator and researcher, he has an experience of providing leadership for planning and implementation of policies and health care services and commanded multi-speciality and super-speciality hospitals. Providing mentorship as an educator and building capacities of students in medical colleges, he has prioritized and facilitated /encouraged students for applied knowledge in the field of public health. With more than 120 publications in indexed journals, he has contributed to the evidence generation and knowledge sharing through designing and undertaking research and providing academic support in the field of public health. Dr Kotwal has received numerous awards for his contribution to the Armed Forces and towards his professional and research achievements. Notable ones being Sena Medal (Gallantry) and Vishisht Sewa Medal (VSM) by the President of India, Commendations by the Chief of Army Staff and Army Cdr., eight best research paper awards and two best research project awards. He has also been awarded the prestigious Dr J E Park oration by the IPHA.