# Dr. Aditi Pajiyar, MBBS

> Nepalese physician and mental health advocate. Gold medalist MBBS graduate of the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (Tribhuvan University), ECFMG certified, currently in the Department of Psychiatry at Spandan Healthcare, Nepal, and applying to U.S. psychiatry residency in the 2027 Match.

Official website: https://mindwell.lumetium.com/
Full bio: https://mindwell.lumetium.com/about
Publications: https://mindwell.lumetium.com/research
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditipajiyar1008/
Contact: aditi.pajiyar.md@gmail.com

## Frequently asked

### Who is Dr. Aditi Pajiyar?
A Nepalese physician and mental health advocate. She earned her MBBS as a gold medalist at the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (Tribhuvan University), worked as a medical officer in Jaleshwar and Kathmandu, trained as an extern at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC, and now works in the Department of Psychiatry at Spandan Healthcare. She is applying to psychiatry residency in the US.

### What is MindWell?
A public-education series she designed during her NHAFN Mental Health Leadership fellowship. Sessions bring psychiatrists, psychologists, and educators together with families and students.

### Are the sessions free?
Yes. MindWell sessions have always been free to attend.

### Is this a substitute for professional care?
No. The sessions share education and general guidance, not individual diagnosis or treatment. If you are struggling, please contact a qualified mental health professional.

### How can I contact Aditi about collaboration or residency?
Email her or connect on LinkedIn using the links on this page.

## Career, in order
- Kathmandu: Gold medalist MBBS. Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, Tribhuvan University.
- Jaleshwar, Madhesh: Medical Officer. A provincial hospital on the border with India.
- Central Jail Hospital: Medical Officer. Care for patients inside Nepal’s central prison.
- Across Nepal: MindWell founder. Best Project Award, top performer of NHAFN Cohort 1.
- The world stage: Forum panelist. Nepal’s voice at the State of the World Forum 2025, “Code Red”.
- Asia: OMLAS Fellow 2026. One Million Leaders Asia Fellow, mentor to Champions from 5 nations.
- In print: 7 psychiatry papers. Published in 2026, one as first author.
- Next, she hopes: To train in psychiatry. After an externship at St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, DC, she is applying in the 2027 Match.

## Story

### Training as a physician, graduating with gold (MBBS)
Aditi earned her MBBS at the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, affiliated with Tribhuvan University, and graduated as a university gold medalist. Medical school showed her how much illness goes unspoken, especially illness of the mind.
- MBBS, NAIHS (Tribhuvan University)
- University gold medalist

### Caring for patients the system overlooks (Medical Officer to psychiatry)
As a medical officer she worked in two very different settings: Provincial Hospital Jaleshwar in Madhesh Province, on the border with India, and the Central Jail Hospital in Kathmandu. Alongside, she volunteered at Mental Hospital Lagankhel, Nepal’s national psychiatric hospital, and in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department at Kanti Children’s Hospital. In every one of these places, psychiatric need was constant and specialist care was scarce. Today she works in the Department of Psychiatry at Spandan Healthcare.
- Department of Psychiatry, Spandan Healthcare (current)
- Medical Officer, Provincial Hospital Jaleshwar
- Medical Officer, Central Jail Hospital, Kathmandu
- Volunteer, Mental Hospital Lagankhel
- Volunteer, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Kanti Children’s Hospital
- Extern, St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, DC

### Taking the conversation to families and schools (Award, January 2026)
As a Fellow of the National Health Action Force Nepal (NHAFN) Mental Health Leadership Program, Cohort 1, she designed and led MindWell, a public-education series on student and child mental health. It brought psychiatrists, a psychologist, and a teacher into the same conversation as parents and students. NHAFN gave it the program’s Best Project Award.
- Best Project Award, NHAFN Mental Health Leadership Program, Cohort 1
- Volunteer, Nepal Institute of Mental Health (NIOMH)
- Mental Health Advisor, Manakal
- Volunteer, Health Foundation of Nepal

### Turning hard cases into shared knowledge (2026)
In 2026 alone she co-authored seven psychiatry papers across six journals with a clinical psychiatry research group, and was first author on one. The cases span schizoaffective disorder in Prader-Willi syndrome, postpartum and bipolar mood disorders, drug-induced mania, antipsychotic weight gain, Lennox–Gastaut syndrome, and gender-affirming care.
- First author, International Journal of Advanced Research
- Co-author, Annals of Clinical Psychiatry

### Teaching people to recognise risk (September 2026)
As an OMLAS fellow, she led an awareness workshop on suicide and self-harm prevention for NELIS and One Million Leaders Asia. It helped young leaders understand the difference between the two, and how a single conversation can open the door to help.
- OMLAS Fellow 2026, One Million Leaders Asia

### Representing Nepal’s next generation (December 2025)
At the 2025 State of the World Forum she was a panelist on “The State of Our World: Code Red,” a session moderated by Forum founder Jim Garrison, and brought Nepal’s perspective to the Human Intelligence track.
- Panelist, State of the World Forum 2025
- AJPHI Fellow 2026

### An externship at St. Elizabeths Hospital (Washington, DC)
Aditi trained as an extern at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC, a public psychiatric hospital founded in 1855 and one of the oldest in the United States. She worked alongside a U.S. psychiatry team, seeing how inpatient psychiatric care is delivered in the system where she hopes to train.
- Extern, St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, DC

### The training she is working toward (Applying, 2027 Match)
Aditi hopes to train in psychiatry in the United States. She is ECFMG certified and is applying to residency in the 2027 Match. She wants to learn from the programs and patients that residency brings, and to carry that training back into the work she has already begun: care for people in under-resourced settings, research, and lowering the barriers that keep people from mental health care.

## Recognition
- State of the World Forum: Panelist, 2025
- New York Weekly: Pictured with Dr. Shreedhar Paudel
- One Million Leaders Asia: Fellow 2026
- NHAFN: Best Project Award
- St. Elizabeths Hospital: Extern, Washington, DC

## Publications
- Pajiyar A, Rodriguez L, Rapp E, Khanna A, Özkan Ö, Suthar HJ, Parikh P. Lybalvi (Olanzapine and Samidorphan) in the Management of Schizoaffective Disorder in an Adult with Prader-Willi Syndrome. International Journal of Advanced Research, 14(03):173–179 (2026). https://doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/22926
- Khanna A, Özkan Ö, Pajiyar A, Rodriguez L, Rapp E, Suthar H, Parikh P. Memantine as Adjunctive Therapy in Lennox–Gastaut Syndrome With Neuropsychiatric Comorbidity: A Case Report. Journal of Global Health Neurology and Psychiatry (2026). https://doi.org/10.7189/001c.164973
- Parikh P, Rodriguez L, Rapp E, Suthar HJ, Pajiyar A, Khanna A, Özkan Ö, Kaushik Chandra A, Nasrallah HA. High Dose of Cariprazine as a Cause of Induced Mania. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry (online first) (2026). https://doi.org/10.1177/10401237261463748
- Özkan Ö, Khanna A, Rodriguez L, Rapp E, Pajiyar A, Suthar HJ, Parikh P. Role of Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Managing Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain Causing Non-compliance in Bipolar Disorder Patients: A Case Series. International Journal of Advanced Research, 14(05):601–611 (2026). https://doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/23462
- Rapp E, Pajiyar A, Rodriguez L, Suthar HJ, Parikh AC, Parikh P. Atypical Presentation of Prosopometamorphopsia in Concurrent Postpartum Mood Disorder and Bipolar II Disorder: A Case Report. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 14(6):2582–2585 (2026). https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20261706
- Rapp E, Khanna A, Rodriguez L, Özkan Ö, Pajiyar A, Suthar HJ, Parikh AC, Parikh P. Importance of Medication Reconciliation in Treatment of a Transgender Male Patient With Bipolar Disorder Undergoing Gender-affirming Hormone Therapy. International Journal of Medical Science and Health Research, 10(03):85–93 (2026). https://doi.org/10.51505/ijmshr.2026.10307
- Özkan Ö, Rodriguez L, Rapp E, Khanna A, Pajiyar A, Suthar HJ, Parikh P. Role of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Weight Management of Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research, 13(3):48–55 (2026). https://doi.org/10.22192/ijamr.2026.13.03.004

## Affiliations and collaborators
- Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences: Where she trained
- Central Jail Hospital, Kathmandu: Where she served
- Provincial Hospital Jaleshwar: Where she served
- Kanti Children’s Hospital: Child & adolescent psychiatry
- National Health Action Force Nepal: Fellowship & Best Project Award
- Nepal Institute of Mental Health: Volunteer
- Health Foundation of Nepal: Volunteer
- Dr. Shreedhar Paudel: Pictured together, New York Weekly
- Manakal: Mental Health Advisor
- Psychiatry research collaborators: 7 co-authored papers
- One Million Leaders Asia: Fellow 2026
- NELIS: Workshop partner
- State of the World Forum: Panelist, 2025
- St. Elizabeths Hospital: Extern, Washington, DC
- Spandan Healthcare: Department of Psychiatry
- Mental Hospital Lagankhel: Volunteer
- AJPHI: Fellow 2026

Last updated: 2026-09-29