Divvy Kant Upadhyay, Manipal
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi/Manipal (GA)
Udupi, Jul 2: Dr Vinay Kumar, the celebrated chief author of the world’s largest selling medical textbooks - Robbin and Cotran’s Textbook on ‘Pathological Basis of Disease’ and ‘Basic Pathology’, addressed medical students and faculty at the Manipal University recently.
An authority on the cellular and molecular biology of natural killer cells, Dr Kumar has been a leader in understanding the origin and differentiation of these cells in the body’s immune system. Natural killer cells are components of the Immune system of the body that identify and kill harmful organisms (like tumour cells, viruses) that could otherwise cause disease. He has also done work in understanding complications (like GVHD) arising out of transplants, especially bone marrow transplants done for patients suffering from blood cancer.
Eventhough, Dr Kumar has been publishing his Textbook from USA, it is widely believed that every medical student in India would have come across this book at one time or the other. Answering a question asked by a student of KMC Manipal, Dr Kumar agreed that the textbook which has a large fan-base in India, does not carry epidemiological details of the diseases associated with this region. With the advent of online editions, Dr Kumar feels that in the future, ‘Indian editions’ of the text book could be produced which would give greater details of the diseases commonly found in India. Presently his book has been translated into 14 different languages; South Korean being the latest.
Encouraging students to take up research Dr Kumar lauded the “foresight and wisdom” of Manipal University in hosting the International Conference on Medical Research for students at KMC Mangalore. Appreciating the “state-of-the art” facilities for students at Manipal, Dr Kumar highlighted the importance of basic and fundamental research. He said “One cannot direct science, Science takes its own directions” hinting that basic and fundamental research often leads to ground-breaking discoveries.
Dr Kumar left for USA in 1972 after having done his post-graduation at the prestigious AIIMS in New Delhi under the guidance of renowned Dr Ramalingaswami. An interesting point to note is that one of his co-authors, Dr Abbas, is also an Indian. While medical research is not getting the due it deserves in India, it is a matter of pride to see Indian doctors, who studied their medicine in India, set global bench marks in their fields.
Responding to a question by this correspondent, if he would like to shift base to India to promote medical research among students and Universities, Dr Kumar said this was “a serious matter that he would like to consider”. The lack of large amount of funds that medical research requires is a serious concern for India he feels. “Science has no boundaries today. Research done in USA or India is eventually shared with the world. But I would certainly like to contribute in promoting medical research and training in India as I have always had a deep affection for my country,” said Dr Kumar.
Currently he is the chairman of the department of pathology and vice-dean of the Division of Biological Sciences in Pritzker Medical School at the University of Chicago. Medical students who had jam-packed the hall rushed to the author for his autograph on their copies of his book.