Odisha: VIMSAR Doctor Receives IMA’s National Academic Excellence Award

Bhubaneswar: An assistant professor in the department of Community Medicine at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Burla, recently received the prestigious National Academic Excellence Award from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for his contribution in shaping the future healthcare workforce.

Dr Sanjeeb Mishra is among five doctors of the country to have been conferred with the award for contributions to education, research and training and for dedicated work of teachers in the 2023-24 academic year. He received it at the IMA headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday evening.

“This honour inspires me to do more in the fields of education research and training. Research into the causes and prevention of disease is imperative,” he said after receiving the award.

Mishra completed his MBBS, and MD in Community Medicine from VIMSAR, Burla. He also did a diploma in Community Mental Health from Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, and is trained in Infodemiology from World Health Organisation. He is among the first Infodemic Managers and is currently enrolled in the Field Epidemiology Training programme by ICMR-NIE Chennai, according to his Linkedin profile.

He has more than 15 indexed publications in his name, including a study on the Covid-19 vaccine, which found that Covishield booster shot is extremely effective in elevating the antibody levels against the disease, and on pre-eclampsia, which found that women with AB blood group are at higher risk of developing the disease. He also spearheaded a study, which indicated that individuals with blood groups O+ and B+ are more susceptible to Covid-19 infection even after two doses of the vaccine.

He was also associated with a research that found that the chances of stillbirths is 5.8 times higher among women who are addicted to the use of tobacco and alcohol.

Mishra, along with his wife Gitarani Choubey (34), a senior resident doctor in Forensic Medicine, also runs a free clinic for slum dwellers in Samleipadar area of Sambalpur city in the evening from Monday to Saturday.