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Wockhardt Group chairman Habil Khorakiwala and Kamal Nath, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, with the awardees. |
HMI and Wockhardt honor five for contributions to health care in India
HMI and Wockhardt, Ltd. paid tribute in February to five outstanding doctors who have helped make significant advances in medical research, prevention, diagnosis, and specialty care in India. The biennial Wockhardt Medical Excellence Awards were presented during a ceremony in New Delhi attended by distinguished members of the Indian medical community as well as faculty from Harvard Medical School.
The awards program was launched in 2003 by Joseph B. Martin, MD, PhD, dean of Harvard Medical School. Candidates are nominated for their contributions to institution-building, teaching and mentoring, medical and public health organizations, clinical research, and patient care. A committee chaired by HMI senior consultant and director Miles Shore, MD evaluates the nominations and selects five awardees.
The 2007 Wockhardt Medical Excellence awardees are noted for bringing advances in medicine to India and leading community outreach efforts to increase high-quality health care for underserved populations:
Nadir Bharucha is internationally recognized for his research in Mumbai, where he established India’s first department of neuroepidemiology in India. Dr. Bharucha remains committed to providing care to patients with epilepsy in India’s rural communities.
Vivek Jawali was the first doctor in India to perform awake cardiac surgery, and has since performed the procedure over 500 times throughout the world. He established the open heart surgery program at Shri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology.
S. Rajasekaran heads the orthopedic unit at Ganga Hospital, which performs over 4,000 surgeries a year and has introduced new procedures in the areas of trauma, microsurgery, and spine surgery. Dr. Rajasekaran has spearheaded numerous community service projects aimed at increasing access to care in the community of Coimbatore.
A. Ramachandran is an internationally renowned diabetes researcher who founded and directs the M.V. Hospital for Diabetes & Diabetes Research Centre in Chennai, the largest referral center for diabetes in India.
Hasmukh Shroff is well known for his contributions to the establishment of an advanced leprosy care centre and an AIDS Research and Control Center in India, but he has also been a dedicated teacher for almost 30 years and leads philanthropic activities focused on providing care for orphans in a village of Lonavala.
The awards ceremony included leaders from the Indian medical community. Alan Jacobson, MD, senior vice president of Joslin Diabetes Center, gave a keynote address. Nobel Prize winner Joseph Murray, MD participated via videoconference to pay homage to the awardees.
Wockhardt chairman Habil Khorakiwala said, "These doctors are institutions by themselves in their specialties. I am thankful to the Harvard Medical School faculty for providing their expertise, knowledge, and experience in selecting institution-builders who are icons in medical profession."
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