April 26, 11.27 AM IST || Pocket News Alert
P.D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre in association with The Division of AIDS (NIAID, NIH) held a first-of-its-kind symposium on ‘Advancing TB Research – An Exploration of Opportunities’ in India. The symposium addressed the most pressing global and national health concern of Infectious diseases specifically Tuberculosis (TB), through innovative and multi-disciplinary solutions.
India accounts for 35 percent of the total global burden of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and as per World Health Organization (WHO) statistics for 2011, India has an estimated incidence figure of 2.2 million cases of TB out of a global incidence of 8.7 million cases. This public health issue is the world’s largest epidemic and bears a disproportionately large burden of the world’s tuberculosis rates. The workshop emphasized on the importance of research to curtail the current TB pandemic in India and globally.
To address this growing burden of infectious diseases like TB and HIV, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & MRC will work together with The Division of AIDS, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. This will facilitate strengthening of clinical research capabilities in India through concerted training and research activities. This was signed by Mr. Gautam Khanna, CEO, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & MRC and Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, Director, The Division of AIDS (NIAID, NIH).
Mr. P.P Hinduja, Founder Member, P. D. Hinduja Hospital & MRC said, “I would like to congratulate all the organizers of the workshop ‘Advancing TB Research – an Exploration of Opportunities’ and thank participants, including representatives of NIH and WHO for their presence and readiness to contribute to the successful outcomes of this workshop. TB is one of greatest India’s health challenges, as India is home to more people ill with TB than any other country. Ending TB can be only achieved only through multidisciplinary approach and with greater collaboration within and across governments, and with partners form civil society, communities, researchers and the private sector. I am glad that the Hinduja Hospital is actively taking part in this collaboration and thus directly contributing to the campaign for a TB-Free India. ”
In accordance with the hospital’s vision of institutionalizing health care by building bridges between India and the West, Ms. Vinoo Hinduja, Managing Trustee, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre said, “Our chairman, SP Hinduja first initiated global partnerships dedicated to improving healthcare and education almost 35 years ago. He advocated a mutual learning and sharing of knowledge to advance science in tropical infectious diseases. It is an honor to be associated with NIAID-NIH (US) in our expanded efforts to address India’s greatest healthcare challenge in tackling infectious diseases and Tuberculosis. This workshop emphasized on global collaborations to ensure highest quality medical research in the space of infectious diseases as well as sharing latest advancement in research and clinical strategies for enhanced treatment outcomes.”
Highlighting the importance of this workshop, Mr. Gautam Khanna, CEO, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre said, “India has the highest burden of TB in the world. As per WHO statistics, 2.2 million new cases of TB were reported in India few years ago which is close to 25% of new TB cases reported all over the world. The main objective of this symposium was to bring all the relevant stakeholders from across the globe together to discuss challenges of TB diagnosis, drug resistance and public awareness in India and discuss ways to significantly improve health outcomes for communicable and non-communicable diseases which are affecting India and the world. “
“P.D. Hinduja Hospital and MRC has been committed to research with over 1000 research projects done till now. This international collaboration with NIAID – NIH, USA provides a platform to discuss and facilitate rapid transfer of knowledge and to ensure the highest quality of research, which will benefit the Indian population.” Mr. Khanna further added.
The symposium was addressed by local as well as international speakers in the field of infectious diseases. Key speakers from P.D. Hinduja Hospital included Dr. V. R. Joshi, Head of Research; Dr. Camilla Rodrigues, Consultant Microbiologist & Chairperson Infection Control Committee; Dr. Zarir Udwadia, Consultant Chest Physician; Dr. Rajeev Soman, Consultant Physician; Dr. Alan Almeida, Director – Clinical Research, Consultant Nephrologist & Transplant Physician; Dr. Tester Ashavaid, Director – Lab Research, Consultant Biochemist HOD, Lab Medicine and Dr. Sanjay Agarwala, Director – Professional Services, Chief of Surgery, Head- Orthopaedics & Traumatology. Some of the other noted Indian speakers at the symposium were Dr. Sunil Khaparde, Deputy DG, Central T. B. Division, Government of India; Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Secretary, Department of Health Research, Director General Indian Council of Medical Research; Dr. Daksha Shah, Mumbai TB Officer.
Additionally, other leading global scientists, researchers, clinicians and academicians at the symposium were Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, National Institute for Allergy & Infectious Diseases; Dr. Amita Gupta, Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Timothy Rodwell, FIND/University of California, San Diego; Dr. DJ Christopher, CMC Vellore; Dr. Christian Lienhardt, World Health Organization; Dr. Ramkrishna V., University of Texas health center; Dr. Vijaya Valluri, IMB Division, LEPRA India – BPHRC, Hyderabad; Dr. Jerrold Ellner, Boston University Medical Center; Michael Tartakovsky, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases; Dr. Steve Reed, Infectious Disease Research Institute; Dr. Salmaan Keshavjee, Harvard Medical School and many more.
Some of the key topics of discussion at the two day symposium included:
Optimizing Clinical Management of Tuberculosis
Clinical Pearls – Success Story in Patient Management
TB in Pregnancy, TB & Diabetes, TB Drug Resistance
Understanding Molecular Markers of Drug Resistance and Impact of Molecular Diagnostics
Biomarkers of TB and the Host Response
Applying Integrated Computational Methods to Advance TB Research
Current Landscape of TB Vaccines, New Drugs and Current TB Clinical Trials
Novel Approaches to Breaking the Transmission Cycle
US Commitment to Partnership with India to Address the Global Challenge of TB
Advancing India through Advancing Tuberculosis Science
The two day symposium was a huge success and saw participation from more than 230 healthcare professionals, researchers, scientists, clinicians and academicians from across India and US.