An IISc student won third prize at an international summit held in Berlin, Germany, for a device that could make tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis cheaper and more accessible.
Ayushi Chauhan, a PhD scholar at IISc’s chemical engineering department, was awarded third prize under the ‘Breakthrough of the Year Emerging Talents’ category at the Falling Walls Lab and Science Summit 2022 in Germany. She was earlier the winner of Falling Walls Lab India 2022, leading her to represent the country during the global summit.
She and her adviser, Dr Bhushan Toley, developed a pocket-sized device for the detection of both regular and drug-resistant tuberculosis, that makes the diagnostic portion near equipment-free. “The device reduces instrumentation cost by 99.6% and testing cost by 87%, which can be reduced even further. Only around one-third of tuberculosis cases are actually reported.
This is due in large part to equipment needs,” she said, during her pitch at the summit. She said the diagnosis method was visually similar to that of a home pregnancy test and Covid tests. “I believe this invention can bring an end to tuberculosis by 2035,” she said.
Rev Ferdinand Kittel Foundation is giving the ‘Rev Kittel Awards’ to 10 eminent people who have contributed towards Kannada and Karnataka in various fields for the year 2021-2022.
The award ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 26 at 3.30 pm, at Gandhi Bhavan, Kumara Park East, Bengaluru.
The awardees are : Philanthropist – Dr Ronald Colaco Social Activist – Dr CS Dwarkanath Film – B Ramamurthy Literature – Marie Joseph Media/journalism – Ramakanth Tv5 Sports – Martin Das Health worker – Dr Smitha (Victoria hospital) Educationist- Eshwaramurthy NGO-CUPA. Public Service- Ashwini SI, Pullikeshinagar Station.
The award will be conferred by, His Holiness Nidumamidi Mutt Seer Sri Veerabhadra Channamalla Swamiji, B V Pinto, former judge high court of Karnataka and Bhaskar Rao IPS (Retd) former commissioner of Police, Bengaluru.
Dr Elsa Sanatombi Devi, professor & QMR at Manipal College of Nursing and FAIMER faculty at MFIIPLIPE, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), was presented with the National Florence Nightingale Award 2021 by President of India Droupadi Murmu on November 7 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
The historic National Florence Nightingale Awards have been presented to outstanding nursing personnel, honouring their meritorious services. The awards, formed in 1973, are a significant recognition of individuals’ efforts in the field. Dr Elsa was the sole winner from a private organisation for 2021.
Dr Elsa said of her win, “I am beyond honoured; it is a moment of deep personal satisfaction and professional pride to be acknowledged among the other outstanding winners of this prominent award. I am indebted to several people, not least my students, who have continuously inspired compassion and warmth. I am immensely grateful for the recognition and am already looking ahead to more exciting chapters as an educator and learner. I am grateful to MAHE for providing all the support & right environment to excel in my profession”
Dr Elsa boasts of several academic and societal contributions, including those towards COVID-19 counselling under StepOne and ICMR projects for the government of India. Dr Elsa is the first nurse to receive the FAIMER fellowship at the International FAIMER Institute in Philadelphia, USA, is a renowned trainer, and has initiated the first “Manipal Coloplast HEAL Academy”—an industry collaboration to develop and train MBBS and nursing graduate wound managers. She is currently invested in her dream project of training dementia caregivers in Udupi.
Dr H S Ballal, pro-chancellor of Manipal Academy of Higher Education, said, “Dr Elsa’s accomplishments are a credit to her professionalism, exemplary skills, desire to learn, and selfless attitude. It’s been incredible watching her rapid growth over the past two decades, and we’re all very proud of what she’s done and the impact she’s achieved. Her recent win is well deserved, and MAHE remains committed to supporting Dr Elsa in bringing positive change to healthcare.”
Lt gen (Dr) M D Venkatesh, vice chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, praised Dr Elsa, saying, “Dr Elsa’s academic acumen and skills in research and leadership have opened opportunities for students and university affiliates to explore practical training and closely understand the nursing industry. Her efforts within and outside MAHE command deep admiration, and this award cements her legacy as one of the finest educators the country has to offer.”
A woman, native of the taluk is selected to serve in the medical team of FIFA World Cup that is going on at Qatar.
Pratibha N Darkasu, wife of Naveen Poojary, a resident of Darkasu in Kudambettu village is the woman who is selected for this coveted job. She has become the only woman from Karnataka to serve in the medical team of World Cup.
Pratibha is the daughter of Narayana Poojary and Srimathi couple, residents of Siddakatte Soorande in Bantwal. She lives with her husband Naveen in Doha Qatar since many years.
Pratibha works in Hamad Medical Corporation government hospital.
Her special service was recognized during coronavirus pandemic also for which she was honoured.
Now she is selected as the nursing in-charge for the World Cup considering her outstanding service in the health sector of Qatar.
Fortis Hospital has successfully performed 72 robotic surgeries (knee and hip replacement) since September 2022. To create awareness about the efficiency of robotic surgeries, the hospital launched an initiative to perform 100 robotic surgeries without adding any additional costs.
Akshay Oleti, business head of the hospital, said the the hospital currently provides robotic surgeries at the same cost as conventional surgeries to ensure the advanced procedures are more accessible.
In October, Ndeshiwangisa Senyaeli, a 66-year-old Tanzanian woman, was treated at the hospital. She was even unable to perform basic chores for 15 years and had co-morbidities like hypertension, asthma, heart defects among others earlier. The doctors explained that both her knees were damaged due to osteoarthritis. She could barely take a step when she arrived at the hospital.
Dr Narayan Hulse, Director – Department of Orthopaedics, Bone & Joint Surgery, Fortis Hospital, explained that they performed a surgery using the Mako Robotic Technology within a gap of three days. The robot helped create a 3D virtual model of the damaged knee and plan the corrective surgery accordingly.
Dr Hulse explained that often, patients would be unhappy with the knee surgeries as the metal plates would often end up being inaccurately placed. With the MAKO robot, the technology has evolved as the robot calculates everything, all the angles and cutting of the bones as well, reducing inaccuracy to almost nil.
Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that Karnataka has ranked second in the Prime Minister’s Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi scheme, and the government plans to set up 540 new stores across the state.
The scheme has been working well, and 1,052 shops have been opened so far.
A proposal has been sent by the health department to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India for opening 500 new stores in the state, and around 40 new stores in government hospitals.
Since February 2022, 300 new stores have been opened in Karnataka.
Dr Lekha Pandit, professor of Neurology and director of the Center for Advanced Neurological Science at K S Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (deemed to be university) has been awarded the prestigious fellowship of the National Academy of Science India (NASI), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
Since its inception in 1930, NASI has selected nearly 2000 fellows from various fields of science for their path breaking research in Science and Technology and for furthering societal education in science.
Dr Lekha Pandit is a clinician and basic science researcher whose three decades long work on demyelinating disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis and Neuromyelitis Optica, has remarkably improved the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of these severe diseases in India.
She has through her pioneering work shown the increasing prevalence of these diseases among Indians, determined the genetic and environmental factors related and developed and patented the first diagnostic assay for these conditions in India.
At K S Hegde Hospital in Mangaluru, she runs one of the largest registries for these diseases in the Indian subcontinent visited by patients from different parts of India and abroad.
Dr Lekha Pandit is one among 150 Indian women scientists and the first from Dakshina Kannada to have been bestowed this national honor.
Dr Manjeshwar Shrinath Baliga, senior radiobiologist, in-charge of research and chief operating officer (COO) of Mangalore Institute of Oncology, has featured again in the global Top 2% for exceptional research work.
Dr Baliga’s current global ranking in all fields of research is 64,930; while in his specialized area of Cancer (Oncology & Carcinogenesis) is 2,786. In the 2019 report, Dr Baliga was also ranked in the top 2% with 3188th. Among Indian researchers working on cancer, his current ranking is 7th and second in the state of Karnataka.
The study was conducted by Prof John PA, Loannidis of Stanford University and published by Elsevier B V, and considered the contribution of 200,409 scientists from 1960 until the end of September 1, 2022 in 22 scientific fields and 176 sub-fields. The Stanford team focused on impact (citations) and analyzed the research citation in the “Scopus database”, considered to be the “benchmark” by the scientific community around the world.
Dr Baliga is the eldest son of popular travel’s proprietor Prabhakar Baliga and Prema Baliga. He did his schooling and undergraduate studies at St Aloysius College and Masters in Biosciences from Mangalore University. He did his doctoral studies in radiation biology from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal with research on anticancer and radio modulatory properties of novel agents in 2003. He received advanced training at Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai and post – doctoral fellowship at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA and a second post doctorate from the University of Illinois, Chicago in areas of cancer prevention and metastasis.
Dr Baliga also has adjunct degrees in Masters of business administration in education management, from Alagappa University and Masters in Psychology and Psychotherapy from Kuvempu University. In addition to this Dr Baliga has been one of the founding members of the UNESCO Bioethics in India and has been active in studies on ethical issues in health care and Oncology in specific. He has done advanced research training in pharmacogenomics at University of Delhi, South Campus under the prestigious Indian National Academy of Sciences fellowship. Dr Baliga was inducted as a fellow in “The International Institute of Organizational Psychological Medicine (IIOPM), Melbourne Australia in 2019 for his work in health and work place psychology.
In his three decades long scientific career, Dr Baliga has carried out studies in the areas of cancer epidemiology, cancer prevention, radiation-modulation, Onco-psychology, cancer ethics, cancer education, health economics and pharmacovigilance. Till date he has published around 202 scientific articles and 92 text book chapters in the above said areas in national and international journals and books. Dr Baliga has mentored 61 students till date and most of his students are in premier institutes of Europe, USA and Australia.
Dr Baliga’s current research at Mangalore Institute of Oncology is focused on aspects important to local society, like cancer trends in Dakshina Kannada, effective integration of Ayurveda and Yoga in post treatment recovery and health economics in cancer care. These areas have been highly neglected and Dr Baliga’s emphasis is towards bridging the gaps for the benefit of the local society and country at large.
The Karnataka government has announced the Kannada Rajyotsava Award winners for the year 2022 to coincide with the celebrations of the Karnataka formation day. Here’s a look at achievers from all walks of life who have won the award for the year 2022
Perhaps October 1, 2022, turned out to be a red-letter-day for the Mangalurean community in Canada when Canada’s Prime Minister thanked Dr Dorothy Rego BSc, MSc, PhD, MPH in his letter and when she received a prestigious Yeomen Service Award 2022 from the Canadian Canara Vision Inc (CCVI) in recognition of her remarkable contribution in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada.
Dr Dorothy Rego, an immunologist, microbiologist, and public health professional has worked in the field of science for over 15 years. Enormously passionate about science, Dr Rego is especially committed to focusing on the needs and health of others and the most vulnerable.
Message from Prime Minister of Canada
Originally from Gurpur-Kaikamba in the suburbs of Mangaluru, she currently resides in Brampton with her husband, Ronald Rego and two children, Seneca and Roysten. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry from St Agnes College, Mangaluru in 1991 and Master of Science in Microbiology from Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru in 1994. Dorothy also successfully completed her Master’s cum Doctorate (PhD) in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa in 2008 and MPH (Master of Public Health) from the University of Guelph in 2017.
Dr Rego’s areas of expertise includes disease surveillance, vaccine implementation, gender equality, tobacco control, women’s empowerment, maternal child health, cancer research, HIV prevention, food fortification, anaemia reduction and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. She has 7 peer reviewed publications in highly influential American, British, and Indian journals and an impressive 5 scientific reports and 21abstracts published to add to her already remarkable portfolio. As a scientific researcher, she has worked for Health Canada, Peel Public Health, Global Affairs of Canada, and the Gates Foundation.
Dr Rego was part of the leadership team of Peel Public Health’s response to COVID-19 pandemic. She played a crucial role in conducting high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies.
Pre-pandemic, Dr Rego worked with WHO (World Health Organization) where she conducted a comprehensive review addressing policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries at a global level. Deployed to Africa for HIV work, she took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care.
Prior to her migration to Canada, Dr Rego worked for reputed institutions in India such as CMC Vellore and JIPMER Hospital in Puducherry. Her work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study at JIPMER Hospital was the impetus for her increasing passion in public health.
An amazing and highly intellectual personality like Dr Dorothy Rego does not need any further introduction. After the Award ceremony, I had the unique opportunity to toss a few questions at her as the representative of Daijiworld.com.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. On behalf of Daijiworld.com, I am privileged to interact with you. Tell me how it feels to bag a prestigious Award from a renowned non-profit organization like CCVI for your remarkable contribution to the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science.
A. First and the foremost, I thank God for blessing me with wisdom, humility, and grace. These blessings have enabled me to scale mountains and face challenges. I also thank the CCVI for recognizing my work and bestowing me with the Yeomen Service Award. I am humbled and deeply appreciative of this prestigious award. I admit that my contributions to the field of Scientific Research, Public health and Social Science are still on a small scale; however, I view the award as a way forward to do and be more. This recognition has spurred and inspired me to learn and implement more in my fields of expertise.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your parents, siblings, and your childhood days in the picturesque town Gurpur-Kaikamba in Mangaluru, India?
A. I was raised by my father, late Dominic R J D’Lima. My grandmother, late Lucy D’Lima along with my paternal aunt, Leena D’Lima gave me an amazing childhood. I have only one younger sibling, Don John D’Lima who is an Advocate in Mumbai. My weekend nature walks in the lush greenery of Kaikamba along with my dad in the picturesque Gurpur aroused my curiosity about all things related to science. I still cherish the joys of playing some country games like lagory, kutti donne, jibli and mane aata along with 4 other kids in the neighborhood. It was an unforgettable childhood filled with setbacks, love, adventure, mystery, tragedy, loss, and joy.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your early schooling?
A. My journey into my professional development began from the century old Pompei higher primary school in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Patricia. With great pride, I say that I learnt my first alphabets in this Kannada medium school. With immense gratitude, I mention that Sr.Laetita Bath from the Bethany congregation held my tiny hand and hovered it around the cement doodle to make the correct impression of my first Kannada alphabet. My heartfelt appreciation to Sr.Laetita Bath for her dedication and patience. From 1976 to 1983, I made a lifetime of memories from throwing stones at mango trees, picking Sapodilla aka chikoo’s during recess, chasing snakes in the lush green landscape, drawing well water using a bucket and rope to care for school garden and shedding tears to ‘Punya Koti’ narrative by Lucy teacher. An even more historic memory was walking as a class to meet Mother Teresa at Rosa Mystica grounds in 1980. I was awed by that meeting and inspired by Mother Teresa’s selfless work to do the same in my capacity and give back to the community and people amongst who I grew up. Among all, I did not want to attend classes. My beloved Lucy teacher would narrate this well to the readers in this platform. My teachers (the two Jacintha’s, Lucy, Gracy, Jerry, Jayanthi, Sr Jonett, Sr Shanthi, Sr Selma, the late Stella and Late Natalia,) put heart and soul in imbibing me with wisdom and knowledge. Even though this school’s structure was in a dilapidated condition in the mid 70’s, it did not deter me in carving a niche in building my career.
My next journey began in the Bethany run Rosa Mystica High School (RMHS) in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Mediatrice. RMHS gave me an outstanding education with the best teachers, and they were: Sukanya, Leena, Agatha, Josephine, Yuvaraja, Sunder, Shabaraya, Felix, Shreedhar, Sr Wilma, Sr Helmina, Sr Afflicta, Sr Metilda, the late Sr Olivia and the late Sr Mediatrice. My science teachers inspired me with their extra ordinary teaching skills in Pythagoras Theorem derivation and taxonomical classifications which helped me to further refine my passion to progress in the field of biological sciences.
Q. Can you please tell me how your pre-university / university studies at India’s renowned St Agnes Institutions helped you to achieve the success that you are enjoying today?
A. In 1986, I entered the gates of St Agnes College as a PUC student in the science stream with absolutely zero English speaking skills. St Agnes College under the leadership of Sr Aloysius welcomed me with open arms, making me feel like her own as I came from a background different from most English-speaking students. St Agnes College was so open, welcoming, and reassuring that soon after my first term, I forgot about the past and plunged into new challenges. Over the next 5 years, I grew up intellectually both in wisdom and knowledge. I made friends who remain close to my heart today. I met teachers who shaped me in many ways, and as friendly and accommodating as they were, they always had best the interests for me. I bow with respect to all the signatures of my teachers (Maria, Noeline, Usha Nalini, Leela, Sr Beatrice, Saramma, Bhasker, Nagaveni, the late Kamala Devi, Sr Prem, Leo, Prema, Ronald, Saraswathi, and the late Mohan) imprinted on my lab records which I call my personal treasures. These lab records are maintained in mint condition in my ancestral home. The memories of my education such as the dissection tables of Zoology, the color reactions in chemistry labs, the Botany herbariums followed by robust record work where I tried to grab as many experiences and opportunities as I could are still fresh in my mind. The gallery style classrooms, where curriculum was intense, and marks were earned not handed out. It was here that I was introduced to the art and science of Biology which later metamorphosed me into a microbiologist, immunologist and public health professional with several degrees, awards, and accomplishments with exciting work experiences.
Q. Say something about your family and what motivated you to upgrade your educational credentials in Canada? Did you receive any inspiration from anyone or did anyone play a key role in your professional development?
A. My husband Ronald Rego migrated to Canada in 1996 from Dubai in search of greener pastures. I married Ronald in 1998 and joined him later that year in Canada. When we got married, it was my plan to upgrade my educational credentials. We are blessed with two children, 19-year-old daughter, Seneca and 16-year-old son, Roysten. Both children were born in Ottawa and these children were products of my graduate school in addition to my thesis. We currently reside in Brampton.
In my professional development, I credit my dad as being my single greatest influencer followed by my husband. They are both my heroes. My dad had only my best interest at heart. While growing up I had too many why questions to my dad, most of them were related to science. He was like an encyclopedia for me in an era when technology was absolutely zero. My dad reiterated to me several times what it meant to be a woman in the society and the vulnerability associated with being a woman. My dad insisted that women needed to be empowered with highest level education, dream an exciting career, and reach out to others.
My other hero stepped into my life after marriage but when I expressed my desire to upgrade my educational credentials, my husband whole heartedly not only encouraged and supported me but also accepted me as his student wife. He worked extremely hard to make ends meet while I took my backpack and went to the University as a student. In the late 90’s to early 00’s, there were not many options to specialize in public health in Canada, therefore I was left with specializing in basic sciences with an MSc/PhD in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa. When Canada opened doors for public health in 2003 after the SARS crisis, I was already halfway through my MSc/PhD programme and I did not want to make a detour to public health. A few years later, it was a turning point in my life, which I call falling in love but with global public health. I decided to make 3-point turn into international public health and wanted another degree, Master’s in Public Health. When I expressed my desire, my husband whole heartedly supported me again. I became his student wife again in my mid 40’s. I am indebted to these two men and will forever be grateful to their selfless love and support.
Q. Because of your outstanding intellectual and service-oriented qualities, we look up to you as the most successful contributor in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Could you tell us the secret behind your success?
A. This entire journey is akin to sailing through a storm and finally surviving the storm to reap the fruits in different continents. There have been turbulent times in this entire journey, but I persevered through all the challenges and triumphed. If I reflect on the journey, I can’t answer how I managed to endure and conquer. Sometimes, I worked too hard and sacrificed my sleep. There were times I stood up to myself to alter the challenges into enriching, rewarding and gratifying experiences. I always believed in myself and had immense confidence in my abilities. Overall, I was vibrant, full of energy, determined with a strong will power, courageous, focused, and confident. These qualities are the secrets behind my success.
Q. Dr Rego you were part of the leadership team of Canada’s Peel Public Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Could you please tell us what was your role in the implementation of public health interventions?
A. COVID-19 pandemic was a rapidly evolving science and the public health professionals must always be current with science to deliver best interventions for the betterment of the community. It was quite a challenge for us. In the first phase of the pandemic, my role included genomic surveillance to conduct a landscape analysis to identify the emerging variants of concerns circulating in the community. I worked extremely hard with 12-hour rotational shifts consistently to keep the Peel community safe. I quickly transitioned to Mass vaccination Program (MVP) in phase 2 of the pandemic. In MVP, I provided high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies. My efforts on identifying knowledge gaps in evidence led to the prioritization of COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk occupational groups in some settings in the Peel region. Also, I provided evidence-based guidance documents to the process management team which facilitated the smooth execution of mass vaccinations in the Peel region. In addition, I closely monitored the reported Adverse Effects Following Immunization (AEFI) that occurred from COVID-19 vaccination and reported these incidents to the regulatory bodies for further follow up.
Q: I learned from various media reports about your unique contribution to the field of Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Can you please share some of them with a few details?
A. I will use one each example from India, Africa, and Canada to answer this question.
In 1995, I started a very challenging job at the JIPMER hospital in Puducherry, India. JIPMER is the pride of India. It is a government of India enterprise with a state-of-the-art facility and provides free health care. I was appointed to work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study in Pondicherry. It is so unfortunate that many of these kids in this coastal belt did not even live to celebrate their 10th birthday. They would succumb to some respiratory infections. Therefore, the goal was to visit the schools, collect throat swabs samples from kids to identify the culprit and then determine the next steps. My work began with calling out the tenders, purchases, school visits, sample collections, lab research and report writing. I saw high rates of vaccine preventable diseases among children, lack of advocacy among the public, low vaccine uptake and extreme poverty. This realization ignited a fire in me to give my best to the betterment of health through scientific research. My mentor, Dr Reba Kanungo did an excellent job of mentoring me from onboarding to recharging me whenever I was distracted and unfocused. Her motivational words included, “You are a perfect fit for public health, you work very well in the community, take it forward”. That is where it all began, the passion for public health. My pranam to Dr Kanungo, ‘Guru Devo Bhava’ – teacher is God.
In 2018, I was deployed to Africa. I took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance the timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care. This project was truly the best time of my life. My responsibilities were to assess implementation of HIV self-testing program among Men having Sex with Men (MSM) in Kenya. The stakeholders included MSM community, peer educators, outreach workers, health promoters, Kenyan Ministry of Health officials and scientists (infectious disease specialists, mathematical modelers, epidemiologists, and medical anthropologists). The key tasks were to perform an evidence review, administer focus group discussions and quantitative data collection in three counties called Kisumu, Kiambu and Mombasa in Kenya. This data was used in conducting a research design workshop in Nairobi, Kenya which highlighted the planning, organizing, designing, and delivering HIV self-testing program in Kenya. At the end of the research design workshop, I took the lead in the preparation of scientific reports, evidence briefs, research ethics submissions, grant application and a publication in British Medical Journal. It was a very time sensitive programme with numerous complex deliverables, but I was successful in meeting all the deliverables.
During pre-pandemic time, when I was working with Nutritional International in Ottawa, I had a stint with World Health Organization (WHO) in conducting a commissioned review. Our team addressed policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries around the world. This 78-page review included an emphasis on nutritional and non-nutritional causes and contributing factors for anaemia. I conducted a secondary data analysis on micronutrient supplements, iron deficiency, anti-natal care, iron folic acid supplements, dietary diversity, food security, deworming, access to water and sanitation to reduce transmission of helminthic infections and use of insecticide treated nets for malaria vector control using data from complex databases. My experience felt as if I was travelling through the 132 countries and conducting landscape analysis to summarize the key issues related to anemia. In this review, we addressed many gaps in and problems with anaemia reduction efforts, identified and described various components required for successful evidence-informed anaemia reduction programmes, and included recommendations for programme implementers and decision-makers, with links to multiple resources and tools that can be contextualized to each country’s situation. This work is published in WHO website. This is my biggest triumph in my contributions to public health.
Q. That’s incredible! Now you have achieved yet another milestone. The Prime Minister has a special mention of you in his letter to CCVI. If I’m correct you are the first Mangalurean to receive such an honor. Don’t you feel so proud to receive such recognition from the Prime Minister of Canada?
A. I was delighted to learn that our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, having learned of my enormous and valuable input into various areas of science has sent an eloquent and wonderfully written appreciation letter to me. This letter will always be treasured by me. A classmate who I am very close to and now residing south of the border joked, “I love your Prime Minister Trudeau but now I envy that you have his letter”. I am humbled to receive this letter of appreciation from our dear Prime Minister Trudeau. And this is yet another incentive to carry forward my plans and goals.
Q. What are your future plans in the sector of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science?
A. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my roots and my birthplace. My childhood, hometown, the schools I attended nurtured me. These are my greatest treasures in life. As I said in the beginning, this award is a way forward. I am looking for avenues and opportunities to give back to the community such as implementing some public health programmes which can benefit the most vulnerable women and children in Mangaluru. My focus will be mostly concentrated on maternal child health. I am currently putting together the resources and doing the groundwork to bring on board the stakeholders to take a deep dive into the program. I want to leave a strong legacy behind. This is my dream, and I am excited to realize these dreams.
Q. What is your message to the younger generation, especially to our community youth?
A. I reiterate the same words of wisdom imparted to me by my dad. Empower yourself with highest level of education, harmonize your available resources, align your goals, build a network, envision an exciting career, and help others. Apart from your core skills, find a hobby or hobbies that motivate you and help you grow as these should be your natural therapeutic release. In my own life, gardening in the summer and cooking authentic Mangalurean food are my natural remedies to relieve my stress. In a nutshell – always dream high, stay ambitious, seek opportunities, work hard, do your due diligence, be honest, do not lose hope and always pray. When you excel in life, stay humble and down to earth, but don’t forget your roots. Give back to the community when you get an opportunity to do so. This is my message to the youth of our community.
Q. What is your message for the people of the west coast in India who are settled in Canada?
A. We should be thankful that we are living in a beautiful multicultural country called Canada. We, the people of the west coast of India, should take pride in keeping our mother tongue, heritage, tradition, and our culture alive. We all have inherited rich traditions that we grew up with, whether they are daily habits, festivities, music, sports, celebrations, or food. We must preserve our traditions by continuously practicing them in the country where we currently reside while adopting new traditions and habits.
A huge heartfelt thanks to you Gerry baab and to Daijiworld for giving me an opportunity to go down the memory.
