His work spans from biomedicine to global health policy, with a unifying theme of regulation and resilience of complex systems at the biological, behavioral and programmatic level.

Dr Shankar has extensive experience as a principal investigator of trials in low and middle income countries assessing effects of nutrition and other interventions on maternal, newborn and child mortality and morbidity, on child cognitive development, and on malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia, and immune function.

His research in 2020 includes design of digital-assisted serological and molecular diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 infection, and assessment of COVID-19 on pregnancy, and impact of COVID-19-related health system changes on maternal and newborn health in Indonesia.