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President’s
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Dear
Members,
Greetings
from Mumbai! I would firstly like to thank the Executive Committee
members & the members of the IAMM for giving me this
opportunity to contribute towards the progress of this
organization by electing me as the president.
I
regret to inform you of the sad demise of Prof. S. Subramanian,
Past President, IAMM and Emeritus Professor and Formerly Professor
of Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences,
Taramani,
University
of
Madras
, Chennai. He passed away on 20.11.2007. He was a very active
member of the association and never missed a conference, we will
all miss him. On behalf of the IAMM I have conveyed our heartfelt
condolences to the bereaved family
It
is over three decades since the Indian Association of
Microbiologists was born in Manipal. It has progressed a long way
since then, from having 30 founder members to having strength of
almost 1800 members today. This exponential growth also speaks
volumes for the growth of the subject in this country which was in
infancy 30 years ago. Microbiology as a subject had just separated
from Pathology and been given an independent status in the
graduate medical curriculum. Time has proved that this move was
justified. Over the last three decades departments of medical
microbiology all over the country have trained students in the
diagnosis of infectious disease and encouraged them to learn the
research tools required for mankind to fight infection. This has
been very opportune, as the sequence of events over the years has
shown. The pandemic of HIV, outbreaks of avian influenza, SARS,
& encephalitis and threats of Biological warfare have required
the services of qualified microbiologists well versed in modern
techniques of diagnosis of infectious disease. These and many
other new emerging and reemerging diseases have posed challenges
to an already overburdened healthcare system, struggling to
maintain the health of its population in the face of poverty and
illiteracy. These diseases have proved the validity of a system
producing qualified and trained microbiologists and researchers!
Our
31st National congress was held at Mangalore and I must
congratulate the organizers Dr Shalini Shenoy, Dr S. Mallya and
their team for having provided an academic treat in a world class
environment. Here I must bring about a point that the National
Congress of the IAMM should be an Annual Scientific pilgrimage for
all scientists working in the field. Though the membership has
grown beyond all expectations, all members do not participate in
the congress. I think this is something which requires to be
addressed. Firstly, the conference is a platform for the growth of
medical microbiology as a subject. Young, upcoming microbiologists
benefit because it gives them an opportunity to interact and learn
from senior microbiologists – doyens in their respective fields!
It also gives them an opportunity for brain storming and to give
direction to their research. The senior microbiologists in their
turn, in the tradition of the “guru –shishya parampara”(mentor
disciple relationship) which is etched in the history of this
country, must spare some time from their busy schedules and over
powering responsibilities to interact with the youngsters. This
would not only rejuvenate them but would help them hand over the
baton of knowledge to the youth and thus give constructive
direction to the talent of the youngsters. The conference is also
a platform for interactions to be developed between clinical
laboratories and research institutes who can complement each other
in the event of disease outbreaks and contribute to the nation’s
preparedness to handle infectious disease.
I
hope we will see many more microbiologists at the next National
Congress at Pune.
With
warm personal regards to each one of you,
Dr
Abhay Chowdhary
President,
IAMM,
Director,
Haffkine Institute for Training Research and Testing
Parel,
Mumbai: 400 012
Email;
abhaychowdhary@yahoo.com
Mob:
+ 91 9821209050 |
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