Indian-born Canadian cardiologist and epidemiologist Salim Yusuf has been chosen for the third Kairali Global Lifetime Achievement Prize for Researchers.
The award has been instituted by the State government for lifelong contributions to research and carries a cash prize of ₹5 lakh and a citation. The Kairali Research Awards for 2021 were announced by Higher Education Minister R. Bindu here on Tuesday.
Prof. Yusuf, who has been selected for his outstanding research contributions in science, is Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Executive Director of the Population Health Research Institute in McMaster University, Canada.
He has been credited with substantially improving the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, thereby benefiting several people across the globe. A native of Kottarakara, Prof. Yusuf was medically qualified in Bengaluru in 1976 and later earned a DPhil at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. During this period, he initiated the concepts of beta adrenergic blockade in myocardial infarction. He also coordinated the first International Study of Infarct Survival trial which laid the path for an international collaborative work in cardiovascular diseases and demonstrated the value of beta-blockers in myocardial infarction.
Writer and literary critic M. Leelavathi, scientist A. Ajayaghosh and economist M.A. Oommen have been adjudicated the joint winners of the Kairali Lifetime Achievement Prize for Researchers for their contributions in the fields of arts and humanities, science and social science. It carries a cash prize of ₹2.5 lakh and a citation.
Post-doctoral research
The Kairali Gaveshaka Puraskaram for post-doctoral research in interdisciplinary fields has gone to Sijila Rosili C.V. (chemical science), Mayuri P.V. (biological science), Swapna M.S. (physical science) and Manju K. (arts and humanities). The winners, who have been undertaking research in various universities and research institutes, will receive a cash prize of ₹25,000, citation, research grant of ₹4 lakh for two years, and travel grant of ₹75,000.
The Kairali Gaveshana Puraskaram for teachers undertaking research will go to Reenamol G. (chemical science), Radhakrishnan E.K. (biological science), Alex P. James (physical science), Anver Sadath (social science) and Shamshad Hussain (arts and humanities). They will receive a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, citation and research grant up to ₹24 lakh for two years.
The winners were identified by a selection committee chaired by P. Balaram, former Director of the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, constituted by the Kerala State Higher Education Council.
