Organising Committee:
Dr. Leni Chaudhuri, Country Director at Tata Centre for Development at University of Chicago Trust, Mumbai, India | Development Sector Professional with 25+ years of experience in Public Health, Education, and Environment
Lubna Duggal, Treasurer, FMES, Mumbai, India. is senior assistant editor with the Economic & Political Weekly (EPW). She has been working at EPW since 2012. She is also treasurer-member of the managing committee of the Forum for Medical Ethics Society, which publishes the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. She has studied philosophy at Sophia College, Mumbai and at the Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities, Manipal University. Her interests include moral, analytic and feminist philosophy.
Dr. Nikhil Govind, Associate Professor and Head, Manipal Centre for Humanities, Manipal, Karnataka, India, He holds a PhD in South and South East Asian Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, USA. His research on mid-twentieth century literary and political thought, specifically the promises and inadequacies of the Indian freedom movement, led to the publication of the influential monograph Between Love and Freedom: The Revolutionary in the Hindi Novel (Routledge, 2014). Over the years, his research has broadened to include a keener sense of contemporary India, both questions of Indian cultural subjectivity as well as the landscape of higher education, advocating for greater synergies between the Health Sciences and the Humanities. Dr Govind’s scholarship on modern Indian literature and cultural history draws attention to the dominant yet invisible cultural patterns that shape the imaginations of both citizens as well as policy makers. He has been involved in attempting to address institutional linkages in Manipal, and bring medicine and the arts into closer conversation. He publishes widely and accessibly on culture and politics in mainstream media publications.
Dr. Olinda Timms, Dr. Olinda Timms, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Health and Humanities at St. John's Research Institute, Bangalore, India, She is author of ‘Biomedical Ethics’ 2nd Ed. (Elsevier) and Working Editor of Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. She is an Anesthesiologist and alumnus of Christian Medical College, Vellore and has worked as Consultant Anesthesiologist at Private and Mission Hospitals in Bangalore since 1987. Her interest in the field of Medical Ethics led to a Post Graduate Diploma in Medical Law and Ethics from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, a Post Graduate Diploma in Bioethics from the Indian Council of Medical Research, and is a Fellow in Research Ethics from WIRB, Seattle. She has been teaching and writing on Medical Ethics and has many publications on these issues in local newspapers and magazines. In March 2016, her book 2018 Biomedical Ethics 2019 was published by Elsevier India. She has written the curriculum on Medical Ethics for the IGNOU BSc. course in Allied Health Sciences and is Adjunct faculty at CMC Vellore for Research Ethics. Dr. Timms currently serves as Chairperson of the Institution Ethics Committee of St Martha 2019s Hospital, Bangalore and Bangalore Baptist Hospital.
Dr Sanjay Nagral, is a surgeon with specialisation in hepato-pancreatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation, who practises in Mumbai both in the public and private sector. He is a consultant surgeon and coordinator of the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology at Jaslok Hospital. He is also Head of the department of eneral surgery at the KB Bhabha Municipal General Hospital, Bandra, Mumbai. He was involved in the first successful liver transplant programme in Western India. He is also involved in postgraduate training as a guide for Surgical Gastroenterology and General Surgery training programmes. He has 80 publications in peer reviewed medical journals to his credit. He is the joint secretary of the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee based in Mumbai, which regulates cadaveric transplant activity in Mumbai and the chairperson of its liver committee. He is the publisher and a member of the editorial board of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics and chairperson of the Forum for Medical Ethics. He is also involved with the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, which is the Indian circle of the worldwide Peoples’ Health Movement. Dr Nagral regularly writes on issues related to public health, medical ethics and organ transplantation. He has contributed to various publications including the Times of India, Hindustan Times, Mumbai Mirror, Economic & Political Weekly, Rediff.com, National Medical Journal of India, the British Medical Journal, scroll.in and thewire.in.
Dr. Sumana Navin, Course Director, MOHAN Foundation, Chennai, India, Dr. Sumana Navin has been associated with MOHAN (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation since 1998. In her current role as Course Director, she trains transplant coordinators in India, frames the curriculum and develops the course content (including E-learning) for the ‘Transplant Coordinators' Training Programme.’ She has also been on the faculty for workshops on deceased organ donation and transplantation for ICU professionals and transplant coordinators in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
Dr. Navin did her MBBS at Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, India and a post-graduate Diploma in Hospital Administration at K J Hospital, Chennai. She was an observer at the Deceased Donation Course for Intensive Care Medicine trainees (NHS Blood and Transplant) in Nottingham, UK in 2016. She also did a Mini Fellowship in Organ Donation at the Gift of Life Institute, Philadelphia, USA in 2017.
She is the editor of MOHAN Foundation’s Indian Transplant Newsletter that focuses on the organ donation and transplantation programme in India and abroad. Her writing has appeared in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, The National Medical Journal of India, Kerala Medical Journal, Indian Journal of Transplantation, Amrita Journal of Medicine, and The Pulse (newsletter of the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation). Her interests include ethics in organ transplantation and she has made presentations at the 14th World Congress of Bioethics in Bengaluru and the 6th National Bioethics Conference in Pune. She is a member of the Forum for Medical Ethics Society, Mumbai.
Dr. Sunita Sheel Bandewar, General Secretary, FMES, Mumbai, India, has training in Anthropology and Bioethics. She was with CEHAT 2013 Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes, Anusandhan Trust, for 15 years. She was awarded an International Fellowship by the International Fogarty Centre, NIH, USA, to pursue a Masters in Health Sciences (Bioethics) at the Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Canada, in 2003-04. Her engagement with health as a field of enquiry over these past 20 years is primarily via empirical research and advocacy in the areas of women and health, global health, and bioethics. She was a senior research fellow in bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto on the initiative titled 201 Ethical, Social, Cultural Program in Global Health 201, Canada, for five years. Through this programme, she had extensive opportunities to work in the African continent and engage with the newer ethical challenges in global health. She has published a number of papers in peer reviewed journals. Amongst others, she serves on the International Ethics Review Board, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Geneva; and as Secretary on the Managing Committee, Forum for Medical Ethics Society, Mumbai, the publisher of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME). She served on the Board of Trustees of Sama Resource Group for Women and Health, New Delhi between 2013 and 2016. Her primary engagement is her association with the IJME, as one of the working editors. She is deeply involved in organisational matters with FMES. She is affiliated to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and is also one of the founding trustees of Vidhayak Trust, Pune. Besides these commitments as a volunteer, she works independently as a senior research professional, a consultant and a trainer in the areas of bioethics, global health, research methodology, programme evaluation and policy analysis
Dr. Vina Vaswani, Director, Centre for Ethics, Mangalore, India, Dr. Vaswani is a qualified bioethicist with a background of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology. She completed her Masters (MA) in Bioethics in 2008, as an Erasmus Mundus scholar from three European Universities (Belgium, Netherlands and Italy). She also has postgraduate diplomas in Medical Law & Ethics and Human Rights Law, both from National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. She is currently doing her PhD from Dublin CIty University, Dublin, Ireland
Rapporteurs Committee:
Lt Col Cynthia Arunachalam, Professor of Ophthalmology at Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya University, Mangalore. She is a graduate of the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and completed her MS (Ophthalmology) from the same institute. She served in the Armed Forces Medical Services for 21 years and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2002. Since then, she has worked as a teaching faculty at medical colleges in Dakshin Kannada; she also served as Head of the Department (Ophthalmology) at Yenepoya Medical College for 9 years. She recently completed her Masters in Research Ethics from the Centre for Ethics, Yenepoya University, as a part of the Yenepoya University–Fogarty International Center program.
Farseena Khadeejath, Tutor, Centre for Ethics, Yenepoya University, Mangalore, Khadeejath Farseena is currently working as a tutor at the Centre for Ethics, Yenepoya deemed to be University. She has completed YU-FIC (Yenepoya University- Fogarty International Center) Master’s Program in Research ethics in the year 2020. Her research work focussed on ethical guidelines for cadaveric research.
Dr. James Charles-Davis, Associate Professor of the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg Prof. Dr. theol. Dr. habil. Rev. J. Charles Davis, born on 22 May 1976 in the Diocese of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India and incardinated into the Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar, is an Associate Professor of the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, an Academician of the Pontifical Academy for Life at the Vatican City, a Research Fellow of the Humboldt Research Foundation, Bonn and a member of the Forum for Medical Ethics Society, Mumbai.
He received his Ph.D. in Moral Theology and Bioethics (Dr. theol.) with summa cum laude for his doctoral thesis on the Ethics of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Proposals for a Legal Framework for India at the Jesuit University of Sankt Georgen Frankfurt, Germany. After years of teaching and research, he obtained his Habilitation (Dr. habil.) with awards of Venia Legendi and Professorship for Moral Theology and Bioethics for his magnum opus on Human Dignity in World Religions: Toward a Global Bioethics and Biolaw from the University of Freiburg, Germany.
He is a recipient of many scholarships and awards and has published many research articles. He has been a Parish Priest, Substitute-Pastor, Judicial Notary, Secretary to Bishops, President of Student Councils, Author and Editor, Teacher and Principal of School, Member of the College of Consultors of the Diocese, Chaplain of Frankfurt University Hospital, Project Coordinator of German Doctors cum German Government (BMZ) co-funded project of St Joseph’s Hospital in Baramulla Kashmir, Staff of Papal Seminary, Professor of Moral Theology and Bioethics and Director of Centre for Applied Ethics at Pontifical Athenaeum of Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth in Pune. He has been instrumental to get scholarships for students and funds for educational, pastoral, social and health projects in India.
Dr. Jagriti Gangopadhyay (PhD), Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Center for Women's Studies, MCH Dr Jagriti Gangopadhyay is currently an Assistant Professor and the faculty coordinator for the Center for Women’s Studies, at the Manipal Centre for Humanities, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). She did her PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar. For her research she has received funding from the Indian Council of Social Science Research, India, National Commission for Women, India, Center for South East Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan, and the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Recently she was also awarded the Shastri Publication Grant by Shastri Indo Canadian Institute for her upcoming monograph. She has published in journals of international and national repute such as Ageing International, Springer, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics and Contributions to Indian Sociology, Sage. She has also presented her work at the Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University, Aging Studies Institute, Syracuse, the Oxford Institute of Population Aging, Oxford and the Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan. Her broad areas of research are social gerontology, family sociology and medical sociology.
Fr. Keni Philomin Raj is a priest, belonging to the Archdiocese of Delhi. Fr. Keni Philomin Raj is a priest, belonging to the Archdiocese of Delhi. He has completed Licentiate in Moral Theology with a specialization in Eco-theology and MBA in Human Resource from ICFAI University, Dehradun. He is currently working as the manager of Maria Manzil School, Nuh and also the parish priest of Our Lady of Fatima Church, Sohna, Haryana. He also teaches theology of Marriage to young couples.
Revathi Vyas, is currently a PhD candidate at the Manipal Centre for Humanities, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). She did her Master of Arts in Sociology from S.N.D.T. University, Churchgate, Mumbai. She did her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from V.G. Vaze College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai. She has been a part of numerous college committees including the English Literary Association, the Dimensions Anchoring Committee, and co-founded and co-headed NIDAR street play group in the college. She has organized and hosted intra and intercollege events through her undergraduate and postgraduate academic careers. Her broad area of academic interest include medical sociology, palliative care, and social gerontology. In her PhD thesis, she aims to focus on caregiving experiences of family caregivers providing end of life care to elderly patients in urban India.
Rhea Sakhardande, Rhea is a final year Masters' student at the Manipal Center for Humanities. She is majoring in Sociology and is interested in understanding the intersection between the worlds of social sciences and healthcare. In her spare time, she likes to learn about diverse topics like osteoarchaeology and astrology.
S. Sebastian Velankanni, Masters of Science in Counselling Psychology from Christ University Bangalore, Manager of Fatima High School, Bishnah, Jammu. S. Sebastian V. is currently a Psychologist at the Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar and manager of Fatima Convent High School, Jammu. He has done M. Sc in Counseling Psychology from Christ University, Bangalore. He did M.A. English and M. A. Sociology from IGNOU. He completed B. Ed course from Kashmir University. He did Theology and Philosophy bachelor’s studies from St. Charles’ Seminary, Nagpur.
Shridevi Kalkoti, Shridevi Kalkoti is currently working as a Tutor at Centre for Ethics, Yenepoya deemed to be University, Mangalore. Her academic backgrounds are from Biochemistry, Education and Research ethics.
Having completed First in India Master’s in Research ethics from YUFIC (Yenepoya University- Fogarty International Center) Master’s grant (NIH grant no. 1R25TW010305), she has developed interest in pursuing my career in the field of Ethics.
Sre Ratha, Sre Ratha, Second year Masters’ student at Manipal Centre for Humanities, Manipal, She is majoring in Sociology and her Masters’ thesis is on understanding the relationship between the discourse on rights, healthcare and the body among Transgender communities in India. She has also been a graphic designer for Chaicopy, an MCH literary publication, in 2019-20 and is serving as its editor-in-chief this academic year. In her spare time, you can find her dabbling in feminist literatures, both fiction and nonfiction. She is also interested in studying social movements and partaking in activism and social justice.
Dr. Sumana Navin, Course Director, MOHAN Foundation, Chennai, India, Dr. Sumana Navin has been associated with MOHAN (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation since 1998. In her current role as Course Director, she trains transplant coordinators in India, frames the curriculum and develops the course content (including E-learning) for the ‘Transplant Coordinators' Training Programme.’ She has also been on the faculty for workshops on deceased organ donation and transplantation for ICU professionals and transplant coordinators in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
Dr. Navin did her MBBS at Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, India and a post-graduate Diploma in Hospital Administration at K J Hospital, Chennai. She was an observer at the Deceased Donation Course for Intensive Care Medicine trainees (NHS Blood and Transplant) in Nottingham, UK in 2016. She also did a Mini Fellowship in Organ Donation at the Gift of Life Institute, Philadelphia, USA in 2017.
She is the editor of MOHAN Foundation’s Indian Transplant Newsletter that focuses on the organ donation and transplantation programme in India and abroad. Her writing has appeared in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, The National Medical Journal of India, Kerala Medical Journal, Indian Journal of Transplantation, Amrita Journal of Medicine, and The Pulse (newsletter of the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation). Her interests include ethics in organ transplantation and she has made presentations at the 14th World Congress of Bioethics in Bengaluru and the 6th National Bioethics Conference in Pune. She is a member of the Forum for Medical Ethics Society, Mumbai.
