ICMR selects 6 PGI doctors for awards

CHANDIGARH: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has selected six doctors from PGI for its prestigious awards. The awards have been won by Prof Surjit Singh and Prof Deepak Bansal of department of paediatric medicine, late Prof Dheeraj Gupta and Dr Ritesh Agarwal, additional professor of department of pulmonary medicine; Dr Akshay Anand, additional professor, department of neurology and Dr Sanjay Bhadada, additional professor, department of endocrinology.Prof Surjit won ICMR Chaturvedi Kalawati Jagmohan Das Memorial Award 2011. This award pertains to his work on Kawasaki Disease (KD) which is now recognized as the commonest cause of acquired heart disease amongst children in Japan, North America and Europe. At PGI, he examined the first patient in 1994 and since that time has diagnosed upwards of 400 such children. Prof Deepak has been awarded the 'Dr H B Dingley memorial award', for outstanding contribution in the field of paediatrics. Prof Bansal's specializes in diseases of blood and cancer in children.Late Prof Dheeraj won Amrut Mody Unichem Award for the year 2011 for his significant contributions in the field of pulmonary medicine.Dr Ritesh has been awarded the ICMR Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize for 2012, for his significant contributions in the field of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). This prize is awarded for the best published research work in the field of biomedical science including clinical research.Dr Akshay has been selected for the prestigious Amrut Modi Award given to those who have demonstrated sustained excellence in the last 10 years in the field of Neurosciences. Dr. Anand's research work has focused on cell disruption mechanisms in brain diseases using unique animal models, with focus on Ocular Neurobiology.Dr Sanjay received prestigious ICMR M N Sen Oration Award for his seminal work on primary hyperparathyroidism entitled "Primary hyperparathyroidism in India : Journey from bed side (clinical) to bench (molecular mechanisms).