Mysore/Mysuru: Asha Kirana, in association with MAHAN (The Mysore Association of Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Clinics and Diagnostic Centres), will be conducting a CME (Continuing Medical Education) on ‘Bio-safety in  Infectious Diseases’ at Hotel Southern Star in city on Sept. 12 (Tuesday) at 8 pm.

Physicians, Microbiologists, Pathologists and Lab In-charge, who are dealing with infectious diseases can participate. Registration is free. For details and registration, contact K.S. Gururaja on Mob: 98451-10058 or Dr. Swamy on Mob: 90084-91105.

Speakers at the CME

Dr. Antony Schwartz, Bio-safety Officer and Director of the Biological Safety Division at Duke University in North Carolina, USA. He is responsible for leading a team of bio-safety professionals who protect healthcare workers, researchers, staff and students from bio-hazardous material in the workplace.

Dr. Schwartz has a Ph.D in Microbiology from The University of Southern Mississippi, where he studied gene regulation in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance. He was selected for the highly-competitive National Bio-safety and Bio-containment Training Programme Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He successfully completed the 2-year programme preparing him to manage BSL-2, BSL-3 and BSL-4 facilities working with bio-hazards and high-risk pathogens like Monkeypox, Ebola virus and Nipah virus.

Prior to Duke University, Dr. Schwartz served as the Responsible Official for the NIH Select Agent Programme, a federal compliance effort specifically for high-risk pathogens. Dr. Schwartz is a Certified Biological Safety Professional (CBSP) through the American Biological Safety Association.

Dr. VHT Swamy, Senior Medical Officer of Asha Kirana Charitable Trust  (AKCT) Hospital, Mysuru, a not-for-profit organisation providing counselling, care and support, Out-patient and In-patient services to people living with AIDS in Karnataka. The 30-bed Hospital accompanied with a network of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals provide quality care and expertise.

The quality clinical service and community healthcare interventions collectively and progressively enhanced the credibility of the institution over the years. Presently, a total of 11,000 patients are on the rolls of AKCT and are receiving treatment and counselling services from the organisation. He is a Master Trainer for Doctors and Paramedics; Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) Technical Consultant for Community Care Centre and National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).