Faculty Research Day: 70 research papers dissected by teachers and students at DUHS

Faculty members and students say research papers are worth publishing in international medical journals.

KARACHI: The researchers of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) assembled in the Arag Auditorium on Monday to display and discuss their research abstracts for a critique and feedback from peers.

Around 70 research papers on clinical and medical science were presented by students and faculty members on the university’s third Faculty Research Day. “This event is organised as a platform to get feedback from experts,” said Dr Zahid Azam, an associate professor at Dow International Medical College (DIMC), associate director at the National Institute of Liver and Gastro Intestinal Diseases (NILGID), and Clinical Trial Unit at DUHS. “The research can be altered or made better before it is published in a medical journal.”  Dr Azam presented two multi-centre abstracts involving the NILGID and Aga Khan University Hospital with a cost-saving perspective. In one paper, he compared colonoscopy with sigmoidoscopy for the diagnosis of colon cancer, which proved that in almost 70 per cent of patients the sigmoidoscopy was enough for diagnosis and there was no need for colonoscopy, which was a comparatively more expensive. The other abstract compared two drugs for control of a complication of liver cirrhosis, identifying the cost effective one for patients.

While talking to The Express Tribune, the director of the department of research, Prof. Nazeer Khan, said that the faculty members produced about 140 publications per year while fourth- and final-year undergraduates at Dow Medical College, Sindh Medical College and DIMC produced 46 abstracts per year with help from faculty members. Prof. Khan added that the students work was usually on cross-sectional studies and post-graduates were encouraged to do basic medical science and other clinical studies. Other facilities at the department include registration of research projects, an abstract book, and faculty profiles. The department also publishes a peer reviewed journal of DUHS which was initiated in 2006, and was approved by Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.

Faculty members and students said that research papers were done methodically, thoroughly and were worth publishing in international medical journals.

This month, for instance, a comparative analysis proved that the drug frequency of a drug used to control vomiting of blood - a complication of liver cirrhosis - could be reduced from three days to one day for patients. It was published in the Journal of Hepatology (the official journal of European Association for the Study of Liver) which is a reputable journal in the field of Hepatology.

Vice chancellor Prof. Masood Hameed Khan announced that the Clinical Research Associate Programme had started at the university. Under the programme, 16-week specific courses were given to health professionals.

Khan said that the motivation to observe Faculty Research Day was to enhance the enthusiasm towards performance of quality researches. The faculty profile would be launched on the university’s website.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2012.