Vadodara: GMERS Medical College, Gotri, has been selected by the State Health System Resource Centre (SHSRC), as a hub for its advanced research programme. The move is aimed at strengthening research capabilities among faculty members of government medical colleges across the state.The six-day programme, being conducted from August 17 to 22, brings together 20 faculty members from medical colleges and healthcare institutions across Gujarat. The programme provides structured training, mentoring and technical guidance to help participants develop research proposals addressing critical health-system challenges.Dr Vishala Pandya, dean at GMERS Medical College, Gotri, said the initiative would contribute to building a stronger research ecosystem within medical colleges by encouraging faculty members to undertake studies focused on healthcare challenges at the grassroots level.The first cohort has identified a diverse range of contemporary health issues for research. These include the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the early detection of breast cancer, challenges in referring women with very high-risk pregnancies and access to financial assistance schemes provided by the Gujarat govt.Other proposed research topics include identifying facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), assessing hand hygiene practices among healthcare workers and developing a physical fitness module for community health officers posted at sub-centres.Dr Parag Chavda, member secretary of the Institutional Research and Innovation Committee, said the programme would equip faculty members with the skills required to transform healthcare challenges into well-designed research projects. The initiative, he added, would help generate evidence that can ultimately be translated into practical interventions and improvements in healthcare delivery.Under the programme, the Gujarat govt provides financial assistance of up to Rs 10 lakh for research projects undertaken in identified health-priority areas. The training covers key aspects of research, including formulation of research questions, protocol development, study design and methodology, data collection and analysis, research ethics, scientific writing and translating research findings into actionable recommendations.GMERS nodal officer Dr Kedar Mehta emphasised that strengthening research capacity among medical faculty was essential to ensuring that academic research remained closely aligned with the needs of patients and the broader healthcare system.The initiative is expected to foster a culture of evidence-based research across govt medical colleges in Gujarat and encourage faculty members to develop solutions to pressing public health and healthcare-delivery challenges.
