The Global Cure

AS THE NATIONAL Education Policy (NEP) 2020 rolled out, the first and only pharmacy uni­versity of India, the Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU), initiated pro­grammes in diagnostics, health services and management. These are in addition to the pharmacy courses for new drug discovery and innovations. In 2020-21, along with courses like Diploma in Pharmacy, Master of Pharmacy, Bach­elor of Physiotherapy, BSc (Sports), MBA Project Management, MBA in Healthcare and Hospital Management, Master of Public Health, the university had started several other courses. These include a postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Research with Apollo Hospital Research & Education (AHRE) and an Executive MPharm in Drug Regulatory Science and MBA in International Trade Management.

There are also a range of other cours­es, such as a BBA (Healthcare), BPharm (Ayurveda), postgraduate Diploma in Plant Tissue Culture, MSc (Artificial Intelligence in Medicine), Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology. There are also new skill development courses in medicine management and many others like BSc (Honours) in Biomedi­cal Science, Master of Physiotherapy in cardiovascular and pulmonary, sports medicine and paediatrics.

The academic session 2022-23 has been vibrant and full of achievements. For the third time in the last five years, the topper in Graduate Pharmacy Ap­titude Test was from DPSRU. Over 70 candidates from the university came out with flying colours. In December, we had the fifth convocation ceremony, and Balram Bhargava, the director-general of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and professor of cardiology, AIIMS, graced the occasion as the chief guest.

DPSRU, which has the word “re­search” in its name, has created state-of-the-art infrastructure for research. With the legacy of having a unique ocular pharmacology lab, centres for clinical research, herbal technology and nano­technology, it has launched the BioNest Bioincubator Centre of DBT-BIRAC, Pre­cision Pharmacy and Medicine Centre funded by the Delhi Knowledge Develop­ment Foundation, and the DSIR-DPSRU-CRTDH Centre (Centre for Advanced For­mulation and Technology). These steps have enabled the university to establish linkages with industries for the promo­tion of science. Currently, the university has more than 40 active memorandum of understanding with government institu­tions and the pharmaceutical industry.

The university has developed active collaborations and tie-ups with vari­ous G20 countries like the UK for drug regulation affairs, the US for Covid-19 genomic and formulation studies, and Sweden for women’s health manage­ment. DPSRU also has MoUs with Rus­sia (regeneration for diabetic foot ul­cer), Thailand (nano formulations), the Philippines (physiotherapy), Malaysia (Covid-19 induced problems in wom­en), and Canada (lung cancer diagnostic panel development).

The university organised the Indian Association for the System of Traditional Asian Medicine (IASTAM) oration and award function. It had organised fac­ulty interaction with Russian and US delegates. The programme included a visit of the US delegates from the indus­try and Russian delegates from Altai State University. Prominent guests included Dr A Najeerul Ameen, president of All India Foreign Medical Graduate Associa­tion, Dr Narsingh Rao, and Dr Parthasara­thy Krishnan, CEO of Remedium.

Many of the faculties are not only in the top two per cent of the list of sci­entists in the world, but also are repre­senting the university in bodies such as AYUSH and its subdivisions like the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Indian Pharmacopoeial Commission, ICMR, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), and many other prestigious institutions.

DPSRU continues to have a focus on research and innovation. Our fac­ulty members have published over 300 research papers and are on the way to getting a number of patents granted. Innovative products are being developed with companies. Research, innovation and incubation are always a priority for our university. More than 25 new dynamic faculty members have been appointed on a regular basis. It is exciting to note that our School of Physiotherapy has been included in the list of the 10 best physiotherapy institutes in India.

Our university has been thriving due to the quality of education and our focus on the welfare of students. We have now about 150 PhD students registered, and more importantly, one-third of them come with scholar­ships from agencies like ICMR, Depart­ment of Science and Technology, Coun­cil of Scientific & Industrial Research. An equal number of them collaborate and get aid from research centres such as Defence Research and Development Organisation, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute.

We acknowledge the constant support of the mentors, teaching and non-teaching staff as well as our alum­ni. We welcome the aspirants to have a distinct career in the field of health sciences, including pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences.

About The Author

Ramesh K Goyal

Ramesh K Goyal is Vice-Chancellor, Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University