Srinagar September 16 (KNS): Noted Endocrinologist, Dr M Ashraf Ganie, has been awarded “Subhash Mukherjee Memorial” Oration-2023 by the Endocrine Society of India (ESI).
Dr Ashraf, presently Professor of Endocrinology & Metabolism and Sub-Dean Research at SKIMS Srinagar, will be conferred with the Oration at ESICON-2023 to be convened at Hyderabad from 14th to 17th December 2023.
Subhash Mukherjee Oration has been instituted in memory of Dr Subhash Mukherjee, legendary Indian scientist and physician who used in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to become the architect of India's first and the world's second test tube baby. Mukherjee created history in collaboration with Sunit Mukherji, a cryobiologist, and Dr Saroj Kanti Bhattacharya, a gynecologist while working on the pioneering IVF project at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College, Kolkata.
Dr Mukherjee joined as a professor at NRS Medical College in Calcutta in 1967, where he brought to life India’s first test-tube baby “Durga”.
Pertinently, physiologist Robert G Edwards, gynecologist Dr Patrick Steptoe and embryologist Jean Purdy, were awarded the Noble Prize for the first test-tube baby of the world “Louis Brown”, 67 days before “Durga” (Kanupriya Aggarwal), the Subhash Mukherjee’s Test Tube baby was born.
Unfortunately, the peers of Dr Mukherjee couldn’t recognize his immense scientific contribution, at that time, and instead started victimizing him which led to his tragic death due to suicide.
Later, Dr Mukherjee’s research came to light in a very interesting way when T C Anand Kumar the creator of the official first human test-tube baby of India, Harsha Vardhan Reddy Buri, went to Kolkata in 1997. Kumar was in Kolkata for a Science Congress and it was there that he came across the research documents of Dr Mukherjee.
After going through the documented evidence and extensively talking to Durga’s parents, Dr Anand Kumar became certain that it was Dr Mukherjee who brought India’s first test-tube baby into existence. After all the work Kumar putting into revealing the actual father of invitro-fertilization in India, finally Dr Mukherjee was given the title of being the architect of the first Indian test tube baby and the ICMR recognized his work.
Dr Ashraf has been awarded, “Subhash Mukherjee Memorial” Oration-2023 for his extensive research in the field of endocrine and metabolic disorders.
Pertinently, Dr Ashraf was recently also nominated Chairman of the Joint Task Force instituted by the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) and Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) to conduct detailed study on the health issues of the populations inhabiting and the people visiting or working in high-altitude areas including Sub-Himalayan regions.
It may be noted that Dr Ashraf has been working in the area of lifestyle disorders for several years and has published numerous research papers on the subject.
Dr Ashraf was working as Associate Professor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi before joining at SKIMS Soura. At SKIMS Dr Ashraf has taken many initiatives to create a vibrant research ecosystem by establishing the Department of Clinical Research, Medical Research Unit and other similar facilities. (KNS)