Resident and faculty members of the Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS Bhopal, took part in the 8th APPSCON 2026 held at AIIMS Mangalagiri.
• Dr. Chirag Agrawal won first prize in the Original Research oral presentation and second prize in the Review poster presentation.
• Dr. Ajay Shukla won first prize in the faculty-group poster review competition.
• Dr. Ahmed Najmi presented original research in the faculty group, and Dr. Balakrishnan S delivered an invited talk.
Resident and faculty members of the Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS Bhopal, earned recognition at the 8th APPSCON 2026, the national conference of the Andhra Pradesh Pharmacological Society, held at AIIMS Mangalagiri. Dr. Chirag Agrawal won two prizes, while Dr. Ajay Shukla also took first prize. Dr. Ahmed Najmi presented his research, and Dr. Balakrishnan S, Professor and Head of the department, delivered an invited talk.
Dr. Chirag Agrawal, Junior Resident-3 in the department, took part in the resident-group oral and poster presentation competitions. He won first prize in the Original Research oral presentation. His study analysed prescription patterns and adverse drug reactions linked to guideline-directed medical therapy in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, a condition in which the heart pumps out less blood than normal. He also won second prize in the Review poster presentation competition for his work “Pharmacological Management of Obesity: Current Landscape and Emerging Therapies”.
Dr. Ajay Shukla, Additional Professor in the department, won first prize in the faculty-group poster review competition. His systematic review and meta-analysis examined the efficacy and safety of a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist for treating obesity. He also took part in a pre-conference workshop on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Cardiovascular Autonomic Function Testing, which focused on bridging physiology and pharmacology in research and clinical practice.
Dr. Ahmed Najmi, Additional Professor in the department, gave an oral presentation in the faculty-group original research category. His study looked at genetic polymorphisms and dosing of acenocoumarol in Central Indian patients after prosthetic mechanical heart valve replacement. He also attended two pre-conference workshops, on systematic reviews and meta-analysis, and on molecular docking.
Dr. Balakrishnan S, Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology, delivered an invited talk at the conference titled “The Drugs We Almost Discovered: Learning from Failed Targets and Abandoned Therapies”.
These achievements reflect the academic engagement and research contributions of the Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS Bhopal, and its continued participation in national-level scientific forums.
