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First National Workshop on Basic Techniques in Molecular Biology & Bio-informatics in Pharmacogenomics

An eight-day national workshop on Basic Techniques in Molecular Biology & Bioinformatics in Pharmacogenomics was conducted from 3-10th August 2004 in the Department of Pharmacology, JIPMER, Pondicherry in collaboration with Vector Control Research Centre, Pondicherry. The main objective of the workshop was to provide hands-on training to the participants in the field of molecular biology, bioinformatics and pharmacogenomics. Twenty participants from Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Panjab, Trivandrum, Madurai and Bangalore attended the workshop. Dr. C. Adithan, Professor of Pharmacology, was the organizing secretary for the workshop.

Pro. N.K. Ganguly, Director-General, ICMR releases the workshop mannual.L to R: Dr. K.S.V.K. Subba Rao, Director, JIPMER; Dr. N.K. Ganguly, Dr. P.K. Das, Director, VCRC and Dr. C.H. Shashindran, Head of Department of Pharmacology.

Prof. N.K. Ganguly, Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi inaugurated the workshop. He released the workshop manual and stated that pharmacogenomics has tremendous applications in several areas of medicine. He said that rational use of drugs could prevent side effects and non-response to drugs.

Lectures delivered during the workshop included Basics of molecular biology, Organization of a good Pharmacogenomic laboratory, DNA extraction procedures, Polymerase chain reaction and RFLP, DNA sequencing, Microarray technology, high throughput screening for the detection of mutations, elementary statistics for Pharmacogenomics etc. Hands-on training was given in basic molecular biology techniques and Bioinformatics. Lectures and exercises on Bioinformatics were jointly organised by Mr. Selvakumar from Pondicherry University and Ms. Sankari from VCRC.

Participants gave an excellent feedback that the workshop was very useful and hands-on training helped them to learn molecular biology and bioinformatics in a robust manner.

The valedictory function was held on 10th August to mark the successful completion of the workshop. Director, Dr. K.S.V.K. Subba Rao, delivered the valedictory address and distributed the certificates to participants and resource persons. A CD on the proceedings of the workshop was released by Dr. P.K. Das, Director VCRC.

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SPANDAN - 04

A spaced out experience... This was the theme for this year’s inter-collegiate extravaganza, which involved delegates from 44 colleges and a head count of about 1500 make it one of the most successful SPANDAN in recent years. The executive batch of 2001 had the honour of hosting this prestigious event this year from 31st August to 4th September 2004. The mascot "Zonk", an extraterrestrial, brightened up the festival with his crazy antics and won many admirers.

The festival was inaugurated by Dr. V. Candavelou, IAS, Collector cum Secretary - Revenue. The inauguration had to be postponed to the second day because of the incessant rains. For long, rains and Spandan have had a stormy yet symbolic relationship and this continued this year with heavy downpours threatening to create a ‘washed out’ experience. However with bright sunshine intervening, the organisers did breathe a bit more freely.

This year also had the usual gamut of events including culturals, literary and debate (L&D), sports and informals. The culturals saw avid participation and the highlights being the fashion show, choreography and western music. The fashion show saw a collection of innovative yet meticulously designed clothing. Christ College, Bangalore clinched the cultural trophy without much resistance. The L&D events featured music quiz after a gap of two years. As expected, the home team retained the L&D trophy for the third successive year, winning the quiz and 90 seconds among other events. The heartening aspect of this year’s events was the great increase in participation and the level of competition compared to the last few years. The Spandan daily Galaxy Quest was in much demand.

The events in sports went of without a hitch except for the usual ranting by teams about fixtures. The home team failed to reach the finals in basketball, but managed to get the hockey trophy after a gap of six years. The women’s throw ball team reached the finals.

Looking back at this year’s Spandan, it created a lot of vibrancy and euphoria. As Zonk returns to his home, it was a truly memorable event for all. Adieu, Spandan 04. See you next year...

(Contributed by Venkatraman, VI Sem, L&D Secy)

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Annual meet of the JIPMER Alumni association

The Annual meet of the JIPMER Alumni Association was held on 7th and 8th August 2004 at JIPMER. The Scientific program took place on 7th August in Theatre Pasteur from 10 am to 1pm. The Director, JIPMER, Dr K.S.V.K. Subba Rao, inaugurated the meet. There were 2 sessions. The papers presented in the first session were

1. A Sane approach to Psychiatry by Dr. Muthurangam (Batch of 1957)

2. Spiritual well being scale by Dr. Yogesh Mohan (Batch of 1992)

Dr. Sourendran was the Chairperson for this session

The papers presented in the second session were

1. New technique in hysterectomy by Dr. Rathinam (Batch of 1960)

2. Patterson Cancer Centre- video presentation by Dr. S. Vijayaraghavan (Batch of 1971)

Dr. S. Jagdish was the Chairperson for this session.

The annual general body meeting and cultural program was held in the Community Hall, JIPMER on Sunday the 8th August. About 75 alumni attended the meet.

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CME IN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS

Continuing education programme in prosthetics and orthotics was conducted by the Prosthetics & Orthotics unit of PMRC JIPMER under the auspices of OPSI Southern chapter on 8th August 2004. The CME was attended by 81 delegates from Southern states. Dr. K.SV.K. Subba Rao, Director JIPMER, while inaugurating the CME, highlighted the importance of the program. Mr. K. Mathivanan, Organizing secretary welcomed the delegates. The scientific session included guest lecture on "Diabetic Foot: Complications and Orthotic Management". The programme also included a lecture on "Bio-mechanics of foot and loco motion" by Mr. A. Balakrishnan Bio Engineer & Former Director NIRTAR. Dr. Krishnachaithanya and Mr. J. Mohanakrishnan of JIPMER presented papers on role of LED on diabetic foot and role of Laser on foot ulcer. In the afternoon, there was a practical demonstration on foot impression, casting techniques and foot pressure assessment for orthotic design. Mr. R. Paulus, Secretary highlighted the involvement of JIPMER in conducting various prosthetic and orthotic conferences & seminars.

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JIPMER SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY ACTIVITIES

1. The First Monthly Meeting for 2004-05 was held on 3:15 pm on Tuesday, August 24, 2004, in Pasteur Theatre. The Director, Dr K.S.V.K. Subba Rao addressed the members and gave suggestions for expanding the activities of the society. He, then in his capacity as Director Professor and Head of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, gave a very illuminating lead talk on "Glimpses of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery" . This was followed by two original paper presentations. These were:

(i)Clinical Profile And Outcome Of Hepatic Encephalopathy In Children. C Udaykumar, N Biswal, and SK Sen. Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry.

(ii)Hemangioma Breast Simulating an Inflammatory Carcinoma. G Sri Vengadesh, Prasant Nayak, D Kadambari, K Srinivasan, J Balachander, R.Anilkumar. Departments of Surgery & Cardiology. 96 members attended the meeting.

Director, Dr. K.S.V.K. Subba Rao, addressing the JIPMER Scientific Society. Dr. Vishnu Bhat, President JSS is presiding over the meeting.

2. The Second Monthly Meeting of the JIPMER Scientific Society for 2004-05 was held on 20th September 2004, Monday at 3.15 PM in Pasteur Theatre. Dr. C. Adithan, Director-Professor, Department of Pharmacology, JIPMER gave a very descriptive lead talk on "Bringing Genomics to Bedside-Our Experience"

Three original papers were presented . They were:

(i) Ocular Cysticercosis in Pondicherry. Subashini Kaliaperumal, Vasudev Anand Rao, Subhash Chandra Parija Departments of Ophthalmology & Microbiology,JIPMER

(ii) Sleep Architecture in Anaemic Pregnant Women:A Case Control Study. Poppy R, Shashindran C H, Gitanjali B, Bupathy A and Oumachigui A. Departments of Pharmacology & Obstetrics and Gynecology, JIPMER

(iii) Hyperhomocysteinemia: A report of three cases. Prasanth.G, Gobu.P, R.Sahoo, T.KDutta Department of Medicine, JIPMER 91 members attended the meeting.

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WORKSHOP ON CARE IN EMERGENCY (ROLE OF A NURSE)

8 – 10 SEPTEMBER, 2004

The workshop on "Care in Emergency (Role of a Nurse) was held on 8th to 10th September, 2004 at JIPMER. 26 participants from Govt. Head Quarters Hospital, Cuddalore, Ulundurpet, Tindivanam, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Arani and Thiruvannamalai and Govt. General Hospital, Pondicherry and JIPMER at the capacity of Staff Nurse and Head Nurse attended.

The inauguration was held on 8.9.2004 in the NTTC Seminar Hall under the Presidentship of Dr. Ananthakrishnan, Acting Medical Superintendent and Director-Professor and HOD, Surgery. Mrs. Gnanapushpam David, Nursing Superintendent and Course Co-ordinator welcomed the gathering. Dr. K.S.V.K. Subba Rao, Director, JIPMER delivered the inaugural address. He pointed out that the nurses form the most integral part of health care delivery system. With the advancement in science and technology and sophistication, nurses need to know how to operate the ventilators and monitors, etc.

Faculty from various departments talked on the management of specific emergencies. The participants actively interacted with the faculty members and benefited from the workshop.Pre-test and post-test were conducted.

The valedictory function was held on 10.9.2004 at 4 PM in the NTTC Seminar Hall at JIPMER. Mrs. Gnanapushpam David, welcomed the gathering. Dr. K.R. Sethuraman, Director Prof. & HOD, Medicine presided over the function. Dr. Srinivasan, Director Prof. & HOD, Paediatrics delivered the valedictory address. He pointed out that periodic training is very essential to deliver qualitative care to the patients. Certificates were distributed to the participants by Dr. Srinivasan.

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CRECHE

A Creche was inaugurated on 18.8.2004 by the Director, and this started functioning from 1.9.2004 at E-15 & 17 Quarters, JIPMER Campus. The Creche is named as Shishu Bhavan and is maintained by the Rotary Club of Pondicherry Aurocity. At present eight staff members are utilizing the services. Many of the Staff members have come forward to utilize the service after Vijayadasami. If any body is interested to utilize this facility they can register for the same. A person from Rotary Club Aurocity is available on all the days in the premises.

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ALUMNI WHEEL CHAIRS AND STRETCHER

The JIPMER Alumni association has donated two wheel chairs and one stretcher for transporting sick patients from the hospital gate to the emergency medical services.This service is being run by the Rotary club of Pondicherry (Aurocity) for a nominal charge from the patients. Several patients and their relatives are benefiting from this facility.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The Basketball (Men) team of the JIPMER students participated in the Inter-Collegiate Basketball tournament won Pondicherry University team selection trials on 11.9.04 and 12.9.04 at Pondicherry Engineering College, Pillaichavady. The team consisted of the following students: T. Srikaran (Intern), Pranav S. Garimella, Deepak Damodharan, Prakash Muthusami G., Patri Sandeep N. (all from VII Sem. MBBS), Hemant Shewade (V Sem.), Arun Chandrasekaran (III Sem.), Manoj Joseph (III Sem.).

The JIPMER team obtained IIIrd prize in the tournament.

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P.G. ORIENTATION PROGRAMME FOR 1st YEAR POSTGRADUATES

The Department of Medical Education (NTTC), JIPMER conducted the Post-graduate Orientation Programme for first year Post-graduates on Research, Ethics and Communication Skills for the 11th year in the after-noon of 23rd to 29th July 2004 at NTTC Seminar Hall.

On 23rd, Dr. Santosh Kumar and Dr. B.C. Koner introduced the post-graduates to the "Art and Science of Journal Club Presentations". On 26th, every postgraduate student presented one article and got feedback using microteaching techniques. This session was conducted simultaneously in nine different halls by all the postgraduate training departments.

On 27th, Dr. K.A. Narayan moderated a symposium on ‘Research Methodology’. Dr. R.P. Swaminathan, Dr. S. Mahadevan, Dr. B. Gitanjali and Dr. R. Ravindran took part in the symposium. The postgraduates were then divided into groups and given over-night group work on research methodology. On 28th, each group presented their research plan. For the simulated experience, there was an active participation. Dr. Ajit Sahai, Director-Professor of Biometrics was the invited subject expert for these sessions.

On 29th, there was a session on ‘Medical Ethics’ moderated by Dr. K.R. Sethuraman with expert comments from Dr. S. Srinivasan, Dr. S. Jagdish and Dr. S. Soundararaghavan. Mrs. Vany Adithan, Senior Lecturer, Govt. Law College, Pondicherry was the invited legal expert for the session.

The feedback was highly encouraging and there was unanimous opinion among postgraduates that the programme should be conducted in future also.

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Staff News

Department of Surgery

The following faculty and residents from the department of Surgery, JIPMER, Pondicherry attended the XIV National Conference of Indian Association of Surgical Gastroenterology held at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Cochin from 16th to 19th September, 2004. The following doctors from the department attended the conference:

1. Dr. N. Ananthakrishnan, Director-Professor & Head

2. Dr. Dinker R Pai, Professor

3. Dr. Vikram Kate, Professor

4. Dr. Vishnu Prasad, NR, Assistant Professor

5. Dr. Shankar Raman, R, Sr. Resident

6. Dr. Muthukumarassamy, Sr. Resident

7. Dr. Vivek Babu, Sr. Resident

8. Dr. Ashitha C Bose, Jr. Resident

9. Dr. B. Sandhya, Jr. Resident

10. Dr. Mangilal, V, Jr. Resident

11. Dr. G. Srivenkatesh, Ex-Sr. Resident

Dr. N. Ananthakrishnan chaired a Guest Lecture in the CME on "Do we need specialization to operate on GI Cancers?" He also chaired a Guest lecture on "Evidence based management of severe acute pancreatitis".

Dr. Dinker R Pai chaired a guest lecture in the CME entitled "Parenchyma preserving surgery in Hilar cancer". Dr. Vikram Kate participated as a invited faculty in the panel discussion "Lower GI Bleeding". He also moderated a Surgical Gastroenterology Quiz in the CME session.

Dr. Vishnu Prasad participated in the Post-Conference Workshop on Scentific Communication.

The following awards were won:

1. Dr. Shankar Raman won the First Prize of Rs. 1000 in the Quiz.

2. Dr. Vivek Babu and Dr. Ashitha C Bose were jointly awarded 3rd Prize of Rs. 500/- in the Quiz.

3. The paper entitled "Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor of colon" by Dr. Methukumarasamy R, won the Best Poster session award of Rs. 2,000/-.

The following papers were presented in the conference:

I. Oral Presentation:

a) Ashitha C Bose, Vikram Kate, N. Ananthakrishnan, S.C. Parija. Eradication of Helicobacter pylori by quadruple therapy for the prevention of recurrent ulcer after simple closure of perforated duodenal ulcer.

b) Sandhya B, Vikram Kate, N. Ananthakrishnan, V. Bhuvaneswari, B.C. Koner. Effect on gall bladder function of truncal vagotomy and gastrojejunostomy for chronic duodenal ulcer.

c) Vaishnavi Batmanabane, Vikram Kate, N. Ananthakrishnan. Prevalence of helicobacter pylori in patients with portal hypertensive gastropathy – a study from South India.

II. Poster Session:

a) Ashitha C Bose, Shankar Raman R, Vikram Kate, A. Ananthakrishnan. Spontaneous antegrade external migration of a feeding jejunostomy tube: A case report.

b) G. Srivenkadesh, Sabyasachi Panda, D. Kadambari, K. Srinivasan. Carcinoma colon associated with tuberculosis.

c) Shankar Raman R, Vikram Kate, N. Ananthakrishnan. Xanthogranulomatous appendicitis – A case report.

d) Muthukumarasamy Rajakannu, Sarath Chandra Sistla, Jagdish S. Spontaneous appendico–cutaneous fistula.

e) Muthukumarasamy Rajakannu, Sarath Chandra Sistla, Jagdish S. Recurrent true cyst of spleen : A case report.

f) Mangilal V, Dinker R Pai, Jagdish S, Harish BN. A comparative study of typhoid and Non-typhoid small bowel perforations.

Department of Microbiology

1. Dr. S.C. Parija, Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology, under the India-Sri Lanka Foundation programme for monitoring transfer of low cost technology, visited the University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka from 24.4.2004 to 28.4.2004. He visited the Centre and supervised the implementation of the know how of the diagnostic method developed in the Department of Microbiology, JIPMER and transferred this method to the University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

2. Dr. Parija was a visiting faculty to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman from 29.5.2004 to 2.6.2004. He conducted the Microbiology examination of under graduate students of Medicine and reviewed the course curriculum.

3. Dr. Parija was the Guest of Honour for the State Seminar on Molecular Diagnosis in Microbiology held at Prof. Dhanapalan College for Arts and Science, Chennai on 19.8.2004. Prof. Parija participated in the inaugural function. He also delivered a talk on Molecular methods in the diagnosis of parasitic infections.

4. Dr. Parija, was invited as Chief Guest for the Valedictory function of Summer School on 14.9.2004, ‘Current Trends and Strategies in Diagnosis and Control of Parasitic Diseases of Domestic Animals and Poultry’ organized by the Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal, from 25.8.2004 to 14.9.2004. Prof. Parija delivered the valedictory address on ‘Review of Emerging Zoonotic Parasitic diseases and its control in India’. Dr. Parija also distributed certificates and awards to the recipients of the summer school.

5. Dr. B.N. Harish, Professor of Microbiology was external faculty at the Workshop on Current Issues in Diagnostic Microbiology held at Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal on 24th and 25th September 2004 and delivered a lecture on ‘Antimicrobial sensitivity testing and Quality Control’.

Department of Physiology

Dr. Madanmohan, Director-Professor & Head of Department of Physiology, Dr. Gopal Krushna Pal, Professor, Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi, Professor, Dr. G.S. Gaur, Associate Professor, Dr. Pravati Pal, Assistant Professor, Dr. Asmita Patil, Dr. P.N. Ravindra, Dr. E.S. Prakash, Senior Residents, Dr. A. Alaguraju, Dr. M. Senthilvelou, Dr. P. Ravikannan, Dr. Sujata Biswas, Dr. Salil Pandey, Junior Resident Postgraduates & Mr. P. Pavithran, P.hD. Scholar attended the II Annual Conference of APPI (Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India) 2004. Dr. Madanmohan chaired the symposium on "Pathophysiology of Thrombocytopenia and its management" which was presented by Dr. T.K. Dutta, Professor of Medicine. Dr. Madanmohan, as President of APPI of Pondicherry Chapter, delivered the presidential address and Dr. Gopal Krushna Pal, as Secretary, presented the Annual Report of the Association. Dr. P Vijayalakshmi, Dr. P.N. Ravindra, Dr. E.S. Prakash and Mr. P. Pavithran presented scientific research papers in the free papers session of the conference. Mr. Ravishankar and Mr. Srinivasa Raghavan, II MBBS students, who have completed their ICMR studentship in the department of Physiology also presented research papers.

Department of Neurology

Dr. Sunil K Narayan, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Neurology, was awarded a scholarship by the International Stroke Society and the World Congress of Neurology to attend the 5th World Stroke Congress held at Vancouver, Canada from 23-26th June 2004. He presented a paper on "The role of prothrombotic status in young stroke patients". The co-authors of the paper were Dr. Vinod Kumar, Dr. T.K. Dutta, Dr. D. Basu and Dr. A. Sahai. During this meeting, the Department of Neurology of JIPMER was invited by the organizers of Edinburgh based "CLOT" international trial to join a clinical trial on the "Usefulness of graduated compression stocking in prevention of DVT after stroke". Dr. Narayan also visited the Brain Research Centre at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver".

Department of Ophthalmology

A CME programme on ‘Diabetic Retinopathy’ was organized by the Department of Ophthalmology at JIPMER on 11.9.2004 (Saturday). It was inaugurated by the Director, Dr. K.S.V.K. Subba Rao.

Dr. S.S. Badrinath, President and Chairman, Sankara Netharayala, Chennai, was the Chief of Faculty for the programme. Seventy five delegates attended the CME.

Department of Skin & STD

Dr. D.M. Thappa, Professor and Head and Dr. T.J. Jaisankar, Associate Professor along with two postgraduates attended the Third National Conference of Indian Society for Paediatric Dermatology held on August 21st and 22nd 2004 at Bangalore.

Dr. D.M. Thappa delivered a guest lecture on "Ivermectin in childhood ectoparasitic infestations".

Department of E.N.T.

Dr. Sunil Kumar Saxena, Associate Professor, attended the 6th International Conference on Head & Neck Cancer, sponsored by the American Head & Neck Society, held at Washington DC, USA from 7-11th August, 2004.

He presented a paper titled ‘Aggressive Psammomatoid Ossifying Fibroma of the Sinonasal region’ – Prof. S. Gopalakrishnan and Dr. R. Krishnan were co-authors of the paper. The paper was widely appreciated by one and all. Dr. Saxena also attended the Instructional course and CME programme on Tumour of Nasopharynx and larynx and the CME programme on Laryngeal Surgery.

Department of Cardiology

Dr. R. Anil Kumar, Professor, attended the Annual Conference of the Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry chapter of the Cardiology Society of India held at Sri Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai on the 14th & 15th of August 2004. He delivered a lecture as "Current Perspectives of in Atrial Fibrillation" and actively participated in the proceedings of the conference as a faculty member.

Department of Dentistry

Dr. Balanand, Dental Surgeon attended the workshop on Cleft Lip & Palate and Surgical Orthodontics/Orthognathic Surgery held at Kuntikana, Mangalore on 6-8th August 2004.

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PROMOTION

Dr. Santosh Kumar as Director-Professor of Urology, 17.9.2004

Dr. S. Habibullah as Director-Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 17.9.2004

Dr. S.C. Parija as Director-Professor of Microbiology, 17.9.2004

Dr. Vasudev Anand Rao as Director-Professor of Ophthalmology, 17.9.2004

Dr. C. Adithan as Director-Professor of Pharmacology, 17.9.2004

Shri. R.S. Ramesh as Deputy Nursing Superintendent, 20.8.2004

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Assumed Charge

Dr. Sohinder Kaur, resumed charge as Professor of Anatomy, after her deputation at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal, on 14.8.2004

Dr. C.L.N. Prasad, Chief Medical Officer, took charge at this Institute on transfer from CGHS, Hyderabad, on 18.8.2004.

Shri. G.V.P. Durga Prasad, took charge as Assistant Labour Welfare Commissioner, 18.8.2004.

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Retirement

Voluntary

Dr. N. Vijayalakshmi, Scientific Officer-cum-Tutor, on 4.9.2004

Superannuation

Mrs. Gnanasoundary Lakshmanan, Deputy Nursing Superintendent, 31.7.2004

Shri. S. Calyanasundaram, Assistant Registrar, 30.9.2004.

Shri. M. Sivakumar, Lab. Tech, 31.8.2004

Smt. Lawrence Mary, Sr. R.C.T.O, 31.8.2004

Shri. N. Pavadai, St. Bearer, 31.8.2004

Shri. P. Govindan, Lab. Attendant, 31.8.2004

Shri. M. Mani, Peon, 31.8.2004

Shri. K.K. Vijayan, Sr. Tailor, 30.9.2004

Smt. Baby Loganayagi, O.T. Attendant, 30.9.2004

The staff and students convey their gratitude for the contribution made by the retiring staff to the development of JIPMER. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

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Obituary

Shri. V. Veerapan, Security Guard, 4.8.2004

Smt. J. Kalaivani, Theatre Attendant, 29.8.2004

Shri. N. Subbaiyan, Lab. Asst., 5.9.2004

The staff and students of JIPMER convey their deepest condolences to the families of the bereaved.

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