Balram Bhargava | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961 (age 63–64) Lucknow, India |
| Occupation | Cardiologist |
Balram Bhargava is an Indian physician scientist, cardiologist, medical educationist, and innovator. He is currently serving as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Centre, AIIMS. He is the former Director General at theIndian Council of Medical Research,New Delhi andsecretary of the Department of Health Research; a division underMinistry of Health and Family Welfare,Government of India.[1]
Balram Bhargava was born in 1961 in Lucknow.[2] He did his schooling from La Martiniere College, Lucknow. He graduated in medicine (MBBS), followed by MD and DM with specialization inCardiology fromKing George’s Medical College,Lucknow. Prior to his appointment at ICMR, he was a Professor of cardiology at theAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS). He is a fellow of theNational Academy of Sciences, India (FNASc), Fellow of theAmerican Heart Association (FAHA), Fellow of theAcademy of Medical Sciences (FAMS), Fellow of theNational Academy of Medical Sciences[3] and a Fellow of theAmerican College of Cardiology (FACC).[2]
Balram resides at the AIIMS residential complex atAsiad Village, New Delhi.[2]
Bhargava is reported as a biomedical program administrator fromAIIMS Delhi.[4][5]
Bhargava along with Alok Ray fromIIT Delhi under the leadership of thenDepartment of Biotechnology secretaryMaharaj Kishan Bhan, initiated the Indian chapter of theStanford Biodesign and was its co-executive director (India). The organization had set goals to promote innovators of medical technology through fellowships and also to conduct internships and events related to the area. The system was supported by AIIMS, New Delhi and hasStanford University,Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and theMinistry of Science and Technology, Government of India as partners. Stanford India Biodesign program ended in 2013.[5]
Since 2008, he has been working with Biodesign Fellows Srinivas Juggu, Jayant Karve and Amit Sharma on a project trying to develop a chest compression device. If this succeeds it will be useful for patients suffering sudden cardiac arrests.[6]
Bhargava has spoken up about the need for better regulation in medical testing.[7][8] He is one of the team of twelve doctors from India who plan to establish theSociety for Less Investigative Medicine (SLIM),[9] an initiative that hopes to combat the excessive commercial practices prevalent in India. SLIM is in the making since 2015 and the members hoped to start activities by 2016. The members of SLIM, when it is established, plan to work towards raising public awareness against the trend of unnecessary tests and excessive medical investigations.[7][8][10]
Some of his co-authored publications include:
In 2019 Bhargava received the Gujar Mal Science Award 2018.[11] Bhargava is a recipient of S. N. Bose Centenary Award of theIndian Science Congress, Platinum Jubilee Award of theNational Academy of Sciences and theVasvik Award.[12][13][5] He has also receivedTata Innovation Fellowship for facilitating Biodesign Innovation fellows' work.[12][13][5] TheGovernment of India honoured him, in 2014, by awarding him thePadma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of medicine (cardiology).[14]He is one of the laureates of the 2015UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences.[15] In 2019, he received theDr LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health.[16]
