President & Interim Executive Director
The Union
Regional Director
The Union, South East Asia
Principal Secretary
MoHFW
Government of Kerala
Senior Consultant
Fortis Hospital,
Former National Task Force Chairman, NTEP.
Former Director, PGI, Chandigarh
Associate Professor
Division of Occupation and Environmental Medicine
Lund University, Sweden
Professor in Mathematical Epidemiology Imperial College, London
Professor (Respiratory Medicine) & Head, Dept of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine Armed Forces Medical College, Pune
Prof of Environmental Health
School of Public Health
PGIMER
Professor
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine
Central University Kerala, Kasaragod
Associate Professor
Dept of Pulmonary Medicine
Govt Medical College, Thrissur
State Task Force Chairman, NTEP, Kerala
Director
Pulmo Care Research & Education Foundation (PURE), Pune
Senior Consultant
Respiratory Medicine
Metro Hospital, Delhi
Senior Consultant
Respiratory Medicine
Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai
Prof. Guy Marks
President, The Union
Honorary Professor of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia
Prof. Guy Marks is a respiratory and public health physician and epidemiologist. He is President and interim Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. In this capacity he also serves on the Board of the NCD Alliance and the STOP TB Partnership. He is a member of the steering committee of the Global Asthma Network. He has led the Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research (CAR, an NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence) since 2012. His main research interests are in chronic respiratory disease (asthma and COPD), tuberculosis control and the adverse health effects of exposure to air pollution.
Dr. Kuldeep Singh Sachdeva
Regional Director,
The UNION – South East Asia Office
Dr. Kuldeep Singh Sachdeva has had a long journey of serving the public, a medical doctor (MBBS) with over 32 years of professional experience within the Indian government health system, a Chest & TB Specialist and a Public Health Expert by training. He is actively involved & is a member with a number of globally renowned professional associations and has over 80 papers published in scientific journals. Throughout his career, he has played an important role in strengthening health systems, promoting Public Private Mix in TB Control, supporting TB collaborative activities with HIV, Tobacco, Diabetes, Paediatric TB, & the scaling up of programmatic management of drug resistant TB. He also led the initiatives in environmental health, patient safety & vaccines.
More recently, Dr. Sachdeva held the post of Deputy Director General/Program Manager, National TB Elimination Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW). He has also worked for the National AIDS Control Organisation to control HIV/AIDS infections, for the Global Fund Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM) and India Covid 19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Package as a nodal officer.
A Pre-Conference Workshop on “Basics of Infectious Disease Modelling” by Prof. Nimalan Arinaminpathy (Professor in Mathematical Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London) will be held on December 10, 2021.
Prof. Nimalan Arinaminpathy has specialized in the field of dynamics and control of infectious diseases using mathematical and statistical tools, with a focus on tuberculosis in high burden settings like India and Kenya. He has worked in co-ordination with CDC, USA in studying the epidemiology of influenza control. He also provides modelling support to the Indian Council of Medical Research for the COVID response in India.
AMRITACON (Amalgamation of Medicine, Research and Innovative Technology for Action) aims to cater to a wide spectrum of public health professionals including Medical, Dental, Nursing, Social Sciences, etc.
Every year we have international collaborators to enrich the academic experience, last year it was Newcastle University, UK. This year we are associating with, The UNION – The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
Public Health e-Conference 2020 Public Health Conference 2019 Public Health Conference 2018
| Chief Patron | Swami Poornamritananda Puri |
| Patrons | Dr. Prem Nair Dr. Shantikumar Nair Dr. (Col) Vishal Marwaha Dr. K. V. Beena Dr. D. M. Vasudevan |
| Chairpersons | Dr. Aswathy S. Dr. Asmita Mehta Bri. Sai Bala |
| Co-Chairpersons | Dr. Balagopal Varma R. Prof. K. T. Moly Dr. Sabitha M. Dr. (Br) Jaggu Swami Br. Balasubramaniam Dr. K. N. Panicker Dr. Sobha Subramanian |
| Organizing Secretaries | Dr. Teena Mary Joy Dr. Akhilesh K. |
| Joint Organizing Secretaries | Dr. Chitra Tomy, Dr. R. Venkitachalam |
| Treasurer | Dr. Paul T. Francis |
| Scientific Committee Convenor | Dr. Paul T. Francis Dr. Sreelakshmi Mohandas |
| Scientific Committee Members | Dr. Tinku Joseph (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Nithya Haridas (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Krishnakumar R. (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Unnikrishnan K. Menon (AIMS Kochi) Dr. George Mathews John (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Jaideep Menon (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Anil Kumar V. (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Anupama R. (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Manu Raj (AIMS Kochi) Prof. Sheela Pavithran (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Ravi Sankaran (AIMS Kochi) Bri. Nivedita (AIMS Kochi) Dr. Denny John (Campbell Collaboration) Dr. Sreelal T. P. (DM WIMS, Wayanad) |
| Organizing Committee | Dr. Radhamani K. (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. Rajesh T. (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. Saraswathy L. (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. Minnie Pillay (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. Dinesh Nair (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. Princy Louis Palatty (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. Gopal S. Pillai (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. K. U. Natarajan (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. C. Jayakumar (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. Fessy Louis (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. Sajitha Krishnan (AIMS, Kochi) Dr. George Paul Dr. Seethalakshmy N. V. Dr. M. G. K. Pillai Dr. Dipu T. S. Mrs. Kanmani Job Mrs. Renjitha Bhaskaran |
| Souvenir | Dr. Navami S. Ms. Minu Mary Mathews |
| Registration Committee | Dr. Avani D. Bri. Rahna Mr. Santhosh K. P. Ms. Prejitha T. J. |
| IT Service Committee | Bri. Pavithra Mr. Amal Dev Mr. Nijith Ramachandran |
| Finance Committee | Mr. Kesavankutty Ms. Anu Dev S. Mrs. Sindhu P. N. Mrs. Sunitha H. S. |
| Day 1: December 10, 2021 | |||
| TIME | SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS | TOPIC | SPEAKER |
| 8:30 – 8:35 am | Welcome Address | Dr. Aswathy S. Professor, Dept of Community Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi |
|
| 8:35 – 9:05 am | Chairpersons: Dr. Narayanankutty Warrier Medical Director, MVR Cancer CentreDr. Jayakumary M. Professor, Gulf Medical University, Ajman |
Advances in Lung Cancer Screening | Dr. Pavithran K. Professor and HOD, Dept. of Medical Oncology AIMS, Kochi |
| 9:05-9:10 am | Concluding Remarks | Dr. Jaideep Menon Consultant Cardiologist Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi | |
| 9.30 – 11.30 am | Research Paper Presentations (Oral/Poster/Award) | ||
| 11:30 – 2:00 pm | Lunch Break | ||
| Workshop | |||
| 2.00 – 2.05 pm | Welcome Address | Dr. K. N. Panicker Emeritus Professor Dept of Community Medicine Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi | |
| 2.05 – 2.15 pm | Introductory Remarks | Dr. Shanti Nair Dean, Centre for Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi |
|
| 2:15 – 4:15 pm | Basics of Infectious Disease Modelling by Prof. Nimalan Arinaminpathy Professor in Mathematical Epidemiology Imperial College, London |
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| 4:15 – 4:20 pm | Vote of thanks | Dr. R. Venkitachalam Associate Professor, Dept. of Community Dentistry, AIMS, Kochi |
|
| Day 2: December 11, 2021 | |||||
| TIME | SCIENTIFIC SESSIONS | TOPIC | SPEAKER | ||
| 8:30 – 9:00 am | Chairperson: Dr. Indu P. S. Head of Department Dept. of Community Medicine Govt. Medical College (Kollam) |
Tobacco – The Nemesis of Lung Health | Dr. K. R. Thankappan Professor, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Central University, Kerala (Kasaragod) |
||
| Sub- theme: Chronic Respiratory Diseases | |||||
| 9:00 – 9:20am | Chairpersons:
Dr. K. Vijayakumar Dr. Suma Nair |
Addressing the Chronic Respiratory Disease Burden in LMIC | Dr. Sanjeev Nair Professor, Dept. of Pulmonology, Govt Medical College (Thrissur) State Task Force Chairman NTEP, Kerala |
||
| 9:20 – 9:45am | Optimizing care in COPD | Dr. Sundeep Salvi Director, Chest Research Foundation (Pune) |
|||
| 9:45 – 10:45 am | Inaugural Programme | ||||
| 10:45 – 11:30 am | AMRITA ORATION Chairpersons: Dr. Prem Nair |
Lung Health for All for Sustainable Development | Prof. Guy Marks President & Interim Executive Director, The Union |
||
| Sub- theme: Dimensions of Lung Health | |||||
| 11:30 am – 12:20 pm | Chairpersons:
Dr. Binu Areekal Dr. Anish T. S. |
Airborne Infection Control in Health Facilities | Dr. Malik Parmar National Professional Officer-DRTB, WHO |
||
| COVID 19 and Lung Health | Dr. (Col) Vikas Marwah Assoc. Professor, Interventional Pulmonologist, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune |
||||
| Sub- theme: Air Pollution – From Data to Policy | |||||
| 12:20 – 1:20 pm | Chairpersons: Dr. Biju Soman Professor & Associate Dean, (Health Sciences) Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), TrivandrumDr. Manu M. S. Junior Consultant, STDC |
Changing Paradigms in Air Pollution Monitoring | Dr. H. D. Varalaxmi Regional Director, Central Pollution Control Board, Chennai (CPCB) |
||
| Air Pollution and Health: Bridging the Gaps for Better Health | Dr. Ravindra Khaiwal Prof of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, PGIMER |
||||
| Air Pollution and Health Effects during Life Course | Dr. Ebba Malmqvist Associate Professor, Division of Occupation and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Sweden |
||||
| 1:20 – 1:35 pm | Lunch Break | ||||
| 1:35 – 2:35 pm | Sub- theme: Innovations & Advances | ||||
| Chairpersons:
Dr. Asmita Mehta Dr. Anitha Thilakan |
Lung transplantation | Dr. Arun Nair Consultant in Respiratory Medicine and Lung Transplant, Freeman hospital, UK |
|||
| Biologicals in Asthma- Practice and Practical Challenges in India | Dr. Deepak Talwar Senior Consultant Respiratory Medicine, Metro Hospital, Delhi |
||||
The Breathing Regimen for Lung Health (Pulmonary rehabilitation) |
Dr. Prahlad Prabhu Desai Senior Consultant Respiratory Medicine, Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai |
||||
| 2:35 – 3:35 pm | Sub- theme: Lung Health for Everyone in India | ||||
| Moderators:
Dr. Rakesh P. S. Dr. Akhilesh K. Professor, |
NTEP leading the way for Lung Health | Padmashri Dr. Digambar Behera Senior Consultant, Fortis Hospital, Former National Task Force Chairman, NTEP. Former Director, PGI, Chandigarh |
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| SWAAS :Kerala Experience | Dr. Rajan N. Khobragade, IAS Principal Secretary MoHFW, Government of Kerala |
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| Total Lung Health | Dr. Kuldeep Singh Sachdeva Regional Director, The Union, South East Asia |
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| 3:45 – 4:30pm | Valedictory Session | ||||
The 4th Amrita International Public Health E- conference- AMRITACON 2021 was held on December 10 – 11, 2021. The theme was “Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Healthy Lung, Clean Air, Live A Good Life.” The conference was jointly organised by the Dept. Of Community Medicine and Public Health, Dept of Respiratory Medicine in collaboration with The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The UNION).
The e-conference was inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetam, Dr. Venkat Rangan at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Edapally, Kochi, Kerala. The meeting was presided over by Dr. Prem Nair (Medical Director, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences). NCDC Director Dr. S. K. Singh was the Guest of Honour. The UNION Regional Director, South East Asia Dr. Kuldeep Singh Sachdeva delivered the keynote address. Dr Vishal Marwaha (Principal, Amrita School of Medicine, Kochi), Dr. K. V. Beena (Additional Medical Superintendent and HoD, Dept. of Public Health, AIMS) felicitated the function. Dr. Aswathy S. (Professor and HoD, Dept. of Community Medicine and Organizing Chairperson), spoke on the Genesis and Journey of AMRITACON. Dr Asmitha Mehta (Professor and Organizing Chairperson and HoD, Dept. of Respiratory Medicine) introduced the conference theme, ‘Chronic Respiratory Diseases: Healthy Lung, Clean Air, Live a Good Life’. Dr. Akhilesh (Prof. Dept. of Respiratory Medicine and Organizing Secretary), delivered the vote of thanks.
AMRITACON 2021 – 4th Amrita International Public Health E-conference Held
| Dr. Teena Mary Joy Organizing Secretary, AMRITACON 2021 Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences Phone: +91-484-6688070 Email Id: teenamj@aims.amrita.edu |
Dr. Chitra Tomy Joint Secretary, AMRITACON 2021 Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences Phone: +91-484-6688070 Email Id: chitratomy@aims.amrita.edu |
Dr. Neeraj V. Mohandas MD Resident Department of Community Medicine & Public Health Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi Phone: 8147007979 |
Dr Rajeesh R. Nair MD Resident Department of Community Medicine & Public Health Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi Phone: 9496587729 |
The Department of Community Medicine, Amrita Hospitals, Kochi, endeavors to serve the dual purpose of evolving cost effective primary health care to the community through its rural and urban training health centers and providing value-based medical education, by following a student friendly, need oriented and evidence based curriculum.
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Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham was founded by the world-renowned humanitarian leader, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Amma. As Chancellor of the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amma continues to guide the institution’s mission and growth.
