Courses, Training programs & Workshops
Research Training Courses
Courses at the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Population Health for the year 2023
Bangalore Boston Nutrition Collaborative: Short course
Bangalore Boston Nutrition Collaborative: Short courseBBNC Short Course The Bangalore Boston Nutrition Collaborative has successfully conducted the 2-week short course in International Nutrition Research Methods since 10 years and is planning to continue it in 2020.Course ObjectivesExplore the role of nutritional factors and health outcomes, through critical evaluation of the scientific literature and exploration of demographic, epidemiological, biological, social, political and economic determinantsGain substantive knowledge in topic areas related to public health nutrition research, including: clinical nutrition, physiology, biochemistry and molecular nutritionEnhance methodological skills in areas of nutritional, infectious disease and chronic disease epidemiology, with emphasis on clinical, research and laboratory areasDiscuss the latest findings from epidemiologic studies on the role of nutrition in the prevention, care and treatment of health outcomes - including interpretation and synthesis of research findings, potential mechanisms, study design limitations and public health implications - and integrate research findings to inform public health recommendations and program design and implementation based on current evidence
Two-week Course in Health Research Methodology
Two-week Course in Health Research MethodologyThis course was first conducted from 14th to 26th September, 2009. There were 30 participants (including 6 candidates in the two-year research mentorship program) representing 25 different institutions from 17 cities of India. The participants were trained in essentials of health research methods through lectures, group discussions, journal clubs and statistical modules. In-house, we developed an Online Learning Management System (LMS called SUMMIT) using freely available software (Moodle). This enriched their learning with additional resources, online tests and assignments. The topics for the course included research hypotheses, cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort studies, randomized controlled trials, diagnostic research, evaluating treatments, systematic review, meta-analysis, health policy and advocacy, qualitative studies, research ethics, grants writing, scientific publications, data management, basics of Epi-Info/SPSS and biostatistics (types of variables, sampling methods, sample size calculation, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics – t tests, chi squared tests, ANOVA, ANCOVA, univariate and multi-variate regression and survival analysis). There were 14 lectures, 7 journal clubs, 8 group discussions, 5 statistics lectures and 6 statistics practical classes (2 hours each). The six trainees in the two-year program presented their research proposal and received feedback from the participants as well as the faculty. For the group...
Two-week Advanced Health Research Methodology Course
Two-week Advanced Health Research Methodology CourseAs an add-on to the basic course (September 2009), we conducted a two-week Advanced Health Research Methodology course in September, 2010. The objective of this course was to train the participants in advanced topics of study design, biostatistics, research ethics, project management, health policy and advocacy. There were 31 participants from 19 different cities representing 21 Institutes of India SUMMIT, our in-house Learning Management System, was used at this course as well. The participants accessed reading materials, assignments and tests through this system. More than 40 discussion forums were created by the faculty and candidates during this course. Eight assignments and four online exams were conducted using this system. The second such advanced course was held in September 2012. This course was attended by 30 candidates of whom 8 were in the two-year mentorship program. The candidates were from 20 institutions from 18 cities of India and 2 from Sri Lanka & Kenya. Both the basic and advanced two-week courses were residential and had national and international faculty.
One-week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine
One-week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine This is an on going one week course being held once a year since 2013. It is held in collaboration with faculty from McMaster University Canada and is accredited by The Karnataka Medical Council with 11 credit points. The next course is partially funded by ICMR and scheduled to be held from 17th to 22nd November 2014. Participants: Health professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists), ethics committee members, industry professionals, regulators and health policy makers. Objectives: To familiarize a wide range of health professionals in fundamentals of health research methods, and in evidence based medicine. Method: Interactive lectures & small group activities (journal clubs, group discussions) The course had 21 interactive lectures, 4 small group Zen project discussions, 4 statistical practical sessions, 4 journal clubs and 4 project presentations. There were 11 lectures on health research methods, 6 on evidence based medicine, 2 on statistics and 2 on project management. The lectures were on health research methods, on evidence based medicine, 2 on statistics and 2 on project management. The topics were on study design and methods, ethics, grants and publications, knowledge translation and health policy, project & data management, literature review,...
ICMR One-Week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine November 17th – 22nd, 2014
St. John’s Medical College & Research Institute ICMR One-Week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine November 17th – 22nd, 2014 This is an ongoing one week course being held once in a year since 2013. It is held in collaboration with faculty from McMaster University Canada and is accredited by The Karnataka Medical Council with 6 credit points. The next course is scheduled to be held from 23rd to 27th November, 2015. Participants: Health professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists), ethics committee members, industry professionals, regulators and health policy makers. The course was conducted from November 17th - 22nd, 2014. 36 candidates representing over 17 institutions from 2 different countries attended this workshop (India and Sri Lanka). Objectives: To familiarize a wide range of health professionals in fundamentals of health research methods and in evidence based medicine. Faculties: Faculties were from St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore; Fortis Escorts Hospital, Jaipur; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal and McMaster University and University of Toronto, Canada. Methods: Interactive Lectures & small group activities (journal clubs, group discussions) The course had 21 interactive lectures, 4 small group Zen protocol discussions, 4 statistical practical sessions, 4 journal clubs and 4 project presentations....
ICMR One-Week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine November 23rd - 27th, 2015
St. John’s Medical College & Research Institute ICMR One-Week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine November 23rd - 27th, 2015 This is an ongoing one-week course being held once in a year since 2013. It is held in collaboration with faculty from McMaster University Canada and is accredited by The Karnataka Medical Council with 6 credit points. The next course is scheduled to be held from 23rd to 27th November, 2016. Participants: Health professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists), ethics committee members, industry professionals, regulators and health policy makers. The course was conducted from November 23rd to 27th, 2015. 104 candidates representing over 33 institutions from 4 different countries attended this workshop (India, Kenya, Singapore and Oman). Objectives: To familiarize a wide range of health professionals in fundamentals of health research methods and in evidence based medicine. Faculties: Faculties were from St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore; Fortis Escorts Hospital, Jaipur; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal and McMaster University and University of Toronto, Canada. Methods: Interactive lectures & small group activities (journal clubs, group discussions) The course had 21 interactive lectures, 4 small group Zen protocol discussions, 4 statistical practical sessions, 4 journal clubs and 4 project presentations....
ICMR One-Week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine November 8th - 12th, 2016
St. John’s Medical College & Research Institute ICMR One-Week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine November 8th - 12th, 2016 This is an ongoing one-week course being held once in a year since 2013. It is held in collaboration with faculty from McMaster University Canada and is accredited by The Karnataka Medical Council with 6 credit points. The next course is scheduled to be held from 9th to 13th October, 2017. Participants: Health professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists), ethics committee members, industry professionals, regulators and health policy makers. The course was conducted from November 8th to 12th, 2016. 88 candidates representing over 41 institutions from 4 different countries attended this workshop (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Cameroon). Objectives: To familiarize a wide range of health professionals in fundamentals of health research methods and in evidence based medicine. Faculties: Faculties were from St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore; Eternal Heart Care Centre, Jaipur; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal and McMaster University and University of Toronto, Canada. Methods: Interactive lectures & small group activities (journal clubs, group discussions) The course had 21 interactive lectures, 4 small group Zen protocol discussions, 4 statistical practical sessions, 4 journal clubs and 4...
ICMR-One week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine October 9th -13th, 2017
St. John’s Medical College & Research Institute ICMR-One week Course in Health Research Methods and Evidence Based Medicine October 9th -13th, 2017 This is an on going one week course being held once in a year since 2013. It is held in collaboration with faculty from McMaster University Canada and is accredited by The Karnataka Medical Council with 6 credit points. The next course is scheduled to be held from 27tn to 31st November 2018. Participants: Health professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists), ethics committee members, industry professionals, regulators and health policy makers. The course was conducted from October 9th-13th, 2017. 99 candidates representing over 47 institutions from 4 different countries attended this workshop (India, Nepal, Srilanka and Australia). Objectives: To familiarize a wide range of health professionals in fundamentals of health research methods and in evidence based medicine. Faculties: Faculties were from St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore; Eternal Heart Care Center, Jaipur; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal and McMaster University and University of Toronto, Canada. Methods: Interactive Lectures & small group activities (journal clubs, group discussions) The course had 20 interactive lectures, 4 small group Zen protocol discussions, 4 statistical practical sessions, 4 journal clubs and 4 project presentations....
NIH Sponsored Training in Health Research
NIH Sponsored Training in Health ResearchSt. John’s Medical College and Research Institute has substantial experience in running training programs in clinical research for health professionals and personnel involved in clinical research.. Training activities from our group were initiated in the year 2008. This was initially as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH, USA) Centre of Excellence (CoE) Program to conduct research and training in health research (2009-2014).Most of our training is conducted in collaboration with PHRI, McMaster University, Canada. To date, we have conducted 17 training programs and have trained 1189 participants from 70 institutions from 40 cities in 7 countries. They include, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, ethics committee members, industry professionals, post graduate students, study coordinators, regulatory officials and health policy makers from India and other countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nairobi, Nigeria, Tanzania and the UK.As part of our training activities in our CoE program, we conducted nine programs:The objectives, method and participants areObjective: To train motivated and dedicated young health professionals who will be able to design and implement research projects that are relevant in the Indian context.Method: Candidates are selected based on research interests, project proposal, face to face interviews and support of the...
Undergraduate Training Programs
Undergraduate Training ProgramsA structured undergraduate mentorship based training program is ongoing at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore. It is conducted in collaboration with the St John’s Research Society. Participants: Undergraduate medical students. Objective: To train undergraduate medical students in the principles of research methods through mentorship and a research project. Methods: The unique feature of the program is learning research by hands-on experience: Over a ten month period the students undertake a research project as the principal investigator. A faculty mentor facilitates the process. The student generate a research question, applies for ethics clearance from the institutional ethics review board and responds to objections if any and presents the project proposal to a scientific committee. Following this, a grant of up to Rs.10,000/- is provided to conduct the project. Since 2009, 4 batches with 39 students have completed the program. Four published in PubMed indexed journals, seven obtained awards for best undergraduate research and nine presented in national conferences. Two were awarded the Indian Council of Medical Research student fellowship. The program is now in its 6th year with 10 students in the current batch. A similar mentorship program was initiated at MGIMS, Sevagram, in January 2009. Sixteen students participated...
Three-day Workshop in Data Management and Biostatistics
Three-day Workshop in Data Management and Biostatistics This workshop was conducted from March 4th to 6th, 2014 as part of the NHLBI Centre of Excellence (CoE) activities in association with McMaster University, Canada. The Karnataka Medical Council awarded 6 credit hours for this workshop. Participants: Health care professionals including faculty, postgraduate and PhD students from medical, Nursing and pharmacy colleges from India. Objectives: To enhance basic knowledge of the participants and advance their skills in data management and biostatistics Method: The course methods included lectures and statistics practical, Study design and methods, Case report forms, Preparing tables, graphs and figures, Referencing software, Data management, Project management , writing research grants and writing for a journal. Statistics was taught as interactive lectures and practical. The topics covered were sampling and sample size, parametric tests, non parametric tests, correlation and regression. The candidates had access to a learning management system TYRO that runs on a platform called TUSK Developed by TUFTs University, Boston, USA. 56 candidates from 21 cities in India attended the workshop. The faculty was senior professors, statisticians and researchers from St. John’s Medical College and Research Institute who have extensive experience in the selected topics.