Academic Steering Committee of DMST
The Academic Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing and guiding the development and implementation of the academic programmes and policies of the Department of Medical Sciences & Technology. The Committee is also tasked with ensuring that the academic programmes are aligned with the Department’s overall mission and goals.
Dr. K.R. Balakrishnan
Dr KR Balakrishnan is one of India’s leading cardiothoracic surgeons and heart-lung transplant specialists with over 30 years of experience. His areas of expertise include end-stage heart failure management (heart transplant & VAD implant), paediatric cardiac surgery, lung transplant, and heart and lung transplant.
Dr Balakrishnan has authored and co-authored multiple articles and book chapters and has presented at numerous national and international medical conferences. He performed the first permanent artificial heart transplant in India with HeartMate II LVAD and has performed over 16000 cardiac surgeries throughout his career. He graduated from some of India’s finest medical institutions like JIPMER Pondicherry, AIIMS New Delhi, and KEM Hospital, University of Bombay. He and Prof. Krishna Kumar have collaborated in cardiac mechanics for the past twenty years, and their work has been cited in several textbooks.
Dr Balakrishnan’s rich research and surgical experience will guide the committee in setting the research agenda in the cardiothoracic and vascular surgery field for the Department.
Dr. Vijit Cherian
After completing his MBBS from Seth G S Medical College, Mumbai, in 1992, Dr Cherian pursued MS in General Surgery and DNB at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, in 1995. He later completed an MCh in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, in 1998.
Dr Cherian has served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Christian Medical College, Vellore. With his immense experience in leading programs in well known institutions, Dr Cherian brings his blend of surgical practice, academic, and research experience to the Steering Committee.
Dr. M.S. Gopalakrishnan
Dr Gopalakrishnan completed his MBBS from Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1997, followed by MS in General Surgery from JIPMER, Puducherry, in 2002. He completed an MCh and DNB in Neurosurgery from NIMHANS, Bengaluru, in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Dr. Karthik Kailash
Dr K. Karthik Kailash, the current Prof and Head of Spine Surgery at Sri Ramachandra University Chennai, has over twenty-five years of experience in Spine Surgery.
An MBBS from Madras Medical College, Dr. Kailash did his Diploma and DNB training at Govt Royapettah Hospital Chennai 1991 and his Diplomate in Orthopaedics and spine fellowship from the world-famous Allegeimeines Krankenhaus (AKH) hospital in Vienna and the University of Vienna, Austria and then did his MCH in Orthopaedics from University of Dundee, UK 1997. He then underwent spine fellowship training in the USA for three years with Dr Steffe, the pioneer and originator of the Steffee pedicle screw system.
His special interests are Spinal deformity, Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Endoscopic Spine Surgery. He has authored chapters in 5 textbooks and has over 40 publications apart from being a faculty for numerous National and international meetings and has done many live demonstration surgeries nationally.
Recipient of the Best Doctor Award and many other awards, he is the President of the Chennai Ortho Spine Society and also the Founding core member of the Minimally Invasive Spine Society of India.
Dr. C. Kesavadas
Dr Kesavadas is a distinguished Radiologist, Dean and Professor of Radiology at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum. His research focuses on MRI, Neuroradiology, Medical Imaging Informatics, and Brain-Computer Interfaces. Dr Kesavadas led a team of scientists who developed an imaging protocol for intractable scanning epilepsy, computational software for detecting cortical dysplasia and novel neuroimaging systems for weighted imaging of brain cancer.
Dr Kesavadas is a recipient of the prestigious N-BIOS prize in Indian Bio-Sciences awarded by the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India. He has received multiple other awards and recognitions from Indian and International bodies for his pioneering work.
Dr Kesavadas’ rich research experience at one of India’s premier medical institutions will be invaluable for the Steering Committee.
Prof. R. Krishna Kumar
Prof. R. Krishna Kumar is a recipient of the lifetime achievement research award from IIT Madras. He is one of India’s foremost experts in inter-disciplinary areas, including computational mechanics and mathematical modelling, biomechanics and cardiac mechanics, and artificial intelligence in medicine and design. Prof. Krishna Kumar’s research, and products developed under his guidance have resulted in highly successful and impactful companies in areas as varied as neuronavigation systems and electric two-wheelers.
Prof. Krishna Kumar graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, the University of Madras in 1978; completed his Masters from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1980; and PhD from IIT Madras in 1990. He is an Institute Professor and, till recently, the Perry L. Blackshear Chair at the Department of Engineering Design at IIT Madras.
Dr. Ajit S. Mullasari
Dr. Ajit Mullasari is Director of Cardiology at the Institute of Cardio-Vascular Diseases, Madras Medical Mission, Chennai. He completed his MBBS, Masters, and Post Doctoral Degree in Cardiology all from Grant Medical College, University of Mumbai. He is a Fellow in Interventional Cardiology of The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, and of the Royal College of Physicians, Glasgow. Dr. Mullasari’s interests include Interventional Cardiology, Vascular Imaging, Clinical Research and Research in Basic Cardiac Sciences. He has published 150 peer-reviewed papers and around 200 abstracts in peer reviewed journals. He is the recipient of several awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 from Dr. MGR Medical University, Chennai.
Dr. JSN Murthy
Dr Murthy, former Vice-Chancellor at Sri Ramachandra University and Professor of Cardiology at Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute, has more than 30 years of teaching experience and 40 years of clinical experience as an interventional cardiologist. He has an excellent publication record and has guided four PhDs. He has been trained in the UK in several areas, including paediatric cardiology, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and paediatric and adult interventional cardiology.
Dr Murthy is the recipient of the lifetime achievement award by Tamil Nādu Dr MGR University, the lifetime achievement award by the Indian Medical Association and the Dr Sanjeevi award.
His experience in administration and clinical research gives an essential perspective to the Department.
Dr. Rajiv Raman
Dr Raman has published nearly 250 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals covering several aspects of retinal diseases but focused on diabetic retinopathy. His model of DR screening has been adopted by several institutes globally.
Dr Raman’s rich research background and his work in automated tools for detecting eye diseases will guide the Steering Committee on how clinical and surgical expertise can be augmented with technology tools and Artificial Intelligence systems.
Dr. Rajan Ravichandran
Dr Rajan Ravichandran is one of India’s foremost Nephrologists. He is currently the Director of MIOT Institute of Nephrology in Chennai. Dr Ravichandran has treated more than 20,000 patients from India and worldwide for various nephrology-related ailments involving general nephrology, dialysis, and kidney transplants.
Dr Ravichandran was Head of the Department of Nephrology at Voluntary Health Services (VHS) between 1985 and 1989. He was appointed a visiting professor at Tokyo Women’s Medical College in 1997. Recognising that prevention is the most critical aspect of Kidney Disease, Dr Ravichandran founded the Sapiens Health Foundation for advocation and highly subsidised treatment. Dr Ravichandran was awarded the FACP (USA) in May 2008 and FRCP (EDIN) in June 2008.
Dr Ravichandran’s collaboration with IIT Madras goes back well over two decades. The Acute Dialysis machine used in critical patients to remove fluid to treat pulmonary oedema was a product of this collaboration. Another successful partnership resulted in the Polyallylamine Phosphate Binder, a non-calcium-containing resin used orally to remove Phosphorus in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease, reducing the number of coronary events in these patients. The concept of oral resin has now been developed to release several other substances from the body.
Dr Ravichandran’s long clinical, teaching and collaborative experience will be invaluable to the Steering Committee in establishing world-class medical research programmes.
Dr. Suresh Seshadri
Dr Seshadri also runs Mediscan Systems, a successful venture providing Foetal imaging services. His pioneering work in Foetal medicine and his rich experience as a doctor with a successful entrepreneurial career will give the Steering committee unique perspectives in developing the academic programmes for varied career streams.
Dr. Sivakumar
Dr Sivakumar is an Innovator Awardee from Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF), a world-ranking hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. His expertise includes epigenetic – nanotherapeutics, nanomedicine, and combining pre-clinical and clinical research. He was a Deputy Director, Clinical Research Division at Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (DMIMS), Wardha & Datta Meghe Medical College, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India, and Prof. & Head of Narayana Translational Research and Incubation Center, Narayana Medical College, Nellore, AP.
Dr. Sivakumar was also the head of both institutions’ central animal house facility and stem cell research unit. He holds an Adjunct Professor position at the Engineering Design Department, IIT Madras. Currently, he is at the Manipur University, a Central University, Manipur, India.
His expertise and experience in Nanomedicine, Pre-clinical and Clinical fields could benefit the steering committee to establish the mentioned disciplines in the Department.
Dr. S. Vijayakumar
Dr Vijayakumar is a Physician – Scientist with PhD. in Medical sciences and is an administrator. He is the Registrar of Narayana Academy of Higher Education, Nellore; AP. He has vast experience with the nuances of medical college functioning and is well versed with the regulations of Indian Medical Statutory bodies. He played an essential role in establishing Narayana Medical, Dental, Nursing, Physiotherapy, and allied health sciences colleges. He plays a pivotal role in framing collaborative medical programs, including PhD and signing MOUs with foreign institutions.
After completing MBBS in 1981 from S.V. University, AP, India., he did a post-graduation in Child health from Ireland and PhD from Lincoln University, Malaysia. He served as a paediatrician in the Ministry of Health, Libya; He has been practising community paediatrics and teaching at Narayana Medical College, Nellore, for the past 20 years.
His knowledge in establishing medical institutions and experience in governance will be an asset to the establishment and functioning of the Department at IITM.