Manipal site - Research update upto 2009

Research at the Manipal ITREOH Resource Centre

The UAB-South Asia ITREOH program believes in the value of practice-based learning and has thus supported, mentored and funded several pilot research projects at Manipal. Awarded after a competitive rigorous peer-review process, only two to three pilot projects are selected each year. One of the main goals of the UAB-South Asia ITREOH is for partner sites to contribute to sustainability by successfully obtaining competitive funding and research grants for large-scale studies. ( See box for list of completed, ongoing, approved and under review projects)

Completed pilot studies have formed the basis for several publications in international peer-reviewed journals and, subsequently, have been expanded as competitive proposals for submission to large funding agencies such as the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), NIH, Health Effects Institute (HEI) among others.

The list upto 2009 :

Completed projects.

• Occupational risk of health sciences students to vaccine preventable airborne viral diseases (PI, Dr. G. Arunkumar, Microbiology)

• A multi-center study to assess fine particle matter (PM2.5) air pollution due to secondhand smoke in public places, Manipal (Dr. Ramachandra. Kamath, Community Medicine)

• The mercury and Infant neurological development study - Pilot phase (PI, Dr. G.Satish Rao, Radiobiology)

• A multi-center study to assess fine particle matter (PM2.5) air pollution due to secondhand smoke in public places, Malaysia (Dr. Adinegara bin Lutfi Abas, Community Medicine, MMMC)

• Use of national reporting system for occupational diseases among non-governemntal employees in Peninsular Malaysia (PI, Dr. Adinegara bin Lutfi Abas, Community Medicine,MMMC)

• Surveillance of non-fatal occupational injuries in Malaysia, 2002 to 2006 (PI, Dr. Adinegara bin Lutfi Abas, Community Medicine,MMMC)

Ongoing projects.

• Cultural and psychosocial influences on disability (CUPID) - A multi-country study (PI, Dr. G. Arun Maiya, Physiotherapy)

• Seroprevalence of Burkholderia pseudomallei and occupational risk to melioidosis - A preliminary study (PI, Dr. K.E. Vandana, Microbiology)

• Association between maternal exposure to biomass smoke and birth weight – an analysis of 2005-2006 India Demographic Survey (PI, Dr. Chandrashekhar T. Sreeramareddy, Community Medicine, MMMC)

Approved projects.

• Awareness and perception towards global climate change among school teachers and general population in Mangalore (Dr. B. Unnikrishnan, Community Medicine)

• Retrospective analysis of climate-related factors and vector-borne diseases (PI, Dr. G. Arunkumar, Microbiology)

• Retrospective analysis of climate-related factors and diarrheal diseases with a focus on cholera (PI, Dr. Ramachandra Kamath, Community Medicine)

Indo-US research grant proposals

- “The Burden of Low Birth Weight in Udupi District, India” (ICMR),

- “Prenatal Exposure to Solid Fuel Smoke and Low Birth Weight in Karnataka State, India” (NIH),

- “Prenatal Lead Exposure in India: A Prelude to Prevention” (NIH)

- “Effect of air pollution on childhood morbidity in coastal Karnataka- A longitudinal study” (HEI, US), three of which are currently under review.