By Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi: Unani Medicine has made national and global presence, said Prof. Najma Akhtar, Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia while addressing a national seminar on ‘Research Methodology’ organised by Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), Ministry of Ayush, here on Friday.
During her address, Prof. Akhtar informed about the recent accolades bestowed on Jamia Millia Islamia, especially securing sixth rank among the ‘Top 10 Universities’ of the country in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)-2021.
She acknowledged the national and global presence of Unani Medicine and expressed her appreciation for the work done by CCRUM. She lauded Prof. Asim Ali Khan and his team for the commendable milestones achieved through various research programs.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Asim Ali Khan, Director General, CCRUM elaborated upon the achievements of CCRUM in the area of clinical research, drug standardization, survey and cultivation of medicinal plants and literary research and highlighted the contributions of collaborating institutes. He made a special mention of the contributions of Jamia-based Hakim Ajmal Khan Institute for Literary and Historical Research in Unani Medicine in preservation, translation, documentation and reproduction of classical texts and knowledge of Unani Medicine.
Prof. Khan also appreciated featuring of 16 researchers from Jamia MIllia Islamia in Stanford list of top scientists and congratulated Prof. Najma Akhtar, Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia for this achievement under her leadership.
Prof. Najma Akhtar and Prof. Khan felt that the CCRUM and Jamia Millia Islamia can carry forward the existing association in a more structured manner by some permanent and sustainable mechanism in the mutually agreed areas related to academic and research activities.
While responding to the media both Prof. Akhtar and Prof. Khan appreciated the efforts done by CCRUM and JMI and felt that there is a need for research in Traditional Medicine and Herbal sciences for finding solutions to various healthcare challenges.
Prof. Akhtar and Prof. Khan also had detailed discussions on strengthening collaborations between the two Institutes. In the coming days both leaders plan to have series of meetings to take forward the work in multifaceted area of research and reaping maximum benefit from the expertise available in both the organisations.
The seminar had two technical sessions during which lectures were delivered by Dr. Jugal Kishore, Head, Department of Community Medicine, Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, Prof. K. M. Y. Amin, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Prof. Manish Goel, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, Dr. Shekhar Grover, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi and Dr.Tanu Anand, Scientist-D, ICMR, New Delhi.
Scientists, academicians, researchers and students from Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Hamdard, A&U Tibbia College, Delhi University, Amity University and other research and academic institutions as well as researchers from CCRUM headquarters and institutes participated in the seminar.