CHENNAI: The Centre would set up centres of excellence in medical research in 20 medical colleges across the country, including at least two in Tamil Nadu, said Soumya Swaminathan, Secretary, Department of Health Research, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on Wednesday.
The best performing medical colleges in the country would be selected for this, she said speaking at the 29th convocation of Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University. In future, these institutions should become like Harvard Medical School in the US. People globally should know that these institutions are producing top class research. Funds for research also will eventually be increased, she added.
Research fellowships are already being offered during MD, post-MD and PhD programmes in three universities in the country, including NIMHANS. The new centres of excellence would exclusively focus on research, she said.Though Tamil Nadu is a role model for the entire country in developing a vibrant health system and many states are learning from it, it fared poorly in research, she noted. Swaminathan urged the State health department to make efforts so that the State would be a model in research, too. Tami Nadu Dr MGR Medical University should promote research in medical colleges, she said.
Like the Short Term Studentship scheme of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), through which medical students are funded for small researches annually, every medical institution in Tamil Nadu should start studentships to develop interest in research. Exposing medical students to research is crucial to develop their interest in it, she pointed out.
Every medical and nursing college in Tamil Nadu should designate one sub-dean for research so that there would be a dedicated team for research. Community medicine department in every medical college should have multi-disciplinary teams for research. Public health research is important to frame policies and programmes, she said, and added that research was a 24-hour job; dedication, interaction, discussion and raising questions are part of it.
During the convocation, 19,195 students were conferred degrees in various courses in medical, dental, Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy, Allied Health Science and Paramedical.
Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao presented 166 gold and silver medals for 139 candidates in various courses in medical and paramedical courses. Health Minister C Vijaya Basker, also the Pro-Chancellor of the university, and S Geethalakshmi, Vice-Chancellor, participated.
Use children to carry message
A better way to eradicate any disease is to engage school children in awareness and preventive measures, suggested Soumya Swaminathan. A look
China eradicated Schistosomiasis, a parasite infection to humans spread by snails, using children
The Chinese government motivated children to kill one snail while returning home every day. In just a year, all snails were eliminated and Schistomiasis disappeared from the country
Similarly, every school child in India should be taught to make it a point that they will ensure mosquitoes are not breeding within a specified radius of their houses
This will help the government in tackling challenging infections. The government alone cannot control cases like dengue and chikungunya, says Soumya