Srinagar, July 7: Gauri Kaul Foundation (GKF) is organising a one day “Basic Level Awareness Workshop on Clinical Research” at SKIMS on Saturday.
The organisers said the workshop has been designed to provide participants with a fundamental understanding of the field in collaboration with Indian Society of Clinical Research (ISCR) and SKIMS. The workshop will be held in SKIMS auditorium on July 8.
“The workshop aims to provide valuable insights and foster discussions on the latest advancements, best practices, and challenges in the clinical research field. During the workshop, we will cover essential topics such as the fundamentals of clinical research, site set up, ethical considerations, regulatory requirements, patient recruitment and retention strategies. This workshop aims to provide a solid foundation for anyone interested in pursuing a career in clinical research or seeking to enhance their knowledge in this field. It is also an excellent opportunity to network with professionals in the industry and gain insights into current trends and best practices,” said Director GKF, Prof Upendra Kaul.
“In this one-day event, we have invited medical practitioners, investigators and all those involved in clinical research, including paramedical staff and aspiring young professionals from all the institutions to participate in this event. In one of our recent research works published in Indian Heart Journal, the burden of uncontrolled hypertension in the population of Jammu & Kashmir shows 56 % uncontrolled HT in hypertensive patients,” Prof Kaul said.
Elaborating, he said, “this is alarming data as HT is the leading cause of vascular events at young age, Heart attacks, paralytic strokes, heart failure and sudden deaths.” “Therefore, it is important that the Government health care systems need to be supplemented by voluntary organisations to help tackle the burden of heart disease. In order to find out the burden of disease epidemiological is very essential along with interventions,” he said.
He said GKF’s future direction will focus on continuing to promote heart health through research, education, and advocacy. “The foundation conducts a regular screening program for elderly people under Gauri Old Age Mission (GOAM) to optimise the treatment of patients with heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension and other comorbidities,” he added.
“Clinical Research in Kashmir Valley has not penetrated like the way it has in other big cities of the country. No doubt SKIMS and Government Medical College (GMC)in Srinagar have several well-known departments and consultants involved in it. These institutions are also overwhelmingly busy in providing clinical care to the citizens. Clinical Research helps in bringing the latest advancements in medical research and plays a crucial role in advancing medical knowledge, improving patient care, and developing new therapies,” he said.
“Clinical Research is an integral part of GKF is dedicated to preventing and managing heart disease, the leading cause of death in our country. The mission is to provide excellence in patient care, education, research, community service with innovative therapies by facilitating access to cutting edge clinical research opportunities. The foundation funds research into heart disease, with a focus on identifying new treatments and improving existing treatments,” Prof Kaul said.
“The research arm of the foundation, Gauri Research Centre (GRC) felt the need of conducting awareness programs to bring more visibility to all the stakeholders for initiating more clinical trials in this region,” he said. .
Gauri Research Centre is a clinical research institution with a chain of investigational sites in Jammu & Kashmir. “GRC facilitates the timely execution and completion of high-quality clinical research at investigational sites. The office provides a variety of services to assist Investigators and sponsors with all aspects of clinical research for conducting phase I to IV trials. The staff has extensive training and experiences to ensure that studies are conducted in accordance with sponsors’ standards as well as with local & International regulations and current guidelines for good clinical practice,” he added.