The 63rd annual conference of Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine Institute (ISAM) was held at Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM), Old Airport Road, Bengaluru from 05 to 07 December 2024. The event was inaugurated by Air Marshal SP Dharkar, Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) on 05 December 2024, in the presence of military and civilian dignitaries from Bengaluru and other parts of the country. The conference themed 'Collaborate for Research', portrays the determination of the Aerospace Medicine Society to explore new horizons with collective efforts of associated partners and yet remain connected to origins

            The VCAS, in his inaugural address emphasized the criticality of collaboration in achieving 'Atmanirbharta' in the defence forces. He also felicitated the young academic achievers in Aerospace Medicine. Air Marshal Rajesh Vaidya, Director General Medical Services (Air) delivered the presidential address highlighting various collaborative achievements of the medical services of the Indian Air Force

            The prestigious Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee Memorial Oration, instituted in the honour of the first Indian Chief of the Air Staff, was delivered by Dr VR Lalithambika, Professor of Practice, Dept of Aerospace Engineering, IlT Madras and Distinguished Scientist, former Director DHSP ISRO. Her talk on the topic The Next Giant Leap: My reflections on India's Human Space Flight Programme', introduced the delegates to the space domain, in addition to apprising them about the country's pioneering steps in human space exploration. Her oration followed in the footsteps of several eminent personalities, including Dr Raja Ramanna, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Shri Madhavan Nair, Dr Naresh Trehan, Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma (Retd) and Mr Syed Kirmani, who have delivered this prestigious oration in earlier editions of the conference

            The Air Vice Marshal MM Srinagesh Memorial Oration, instituted to honour Air Vice Marshal MM Srinagesh, an eminent luminary in the field of Aviation Medicine and popularly known as the 'Father of Aviation Medicine', was delivered by Wg Cdr Karthik Kalyanram (Retd) from Rishi Valley Rural Health Centre. He spoke on 'Effective Strategies for low resource settings: Insights gained from my IAF journey', portraying innovative and sympathetic application of his IAF experience to provide health care to the needy rural population

            Other highpoints included 'The Jemi Harmusji Framji Manekshaw Panel’ featuring guest lectures by notable experts including Dr SL Vaya, Project Head at Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA), Rashtrya Raksha University, and Dr Hanumantray Baluragi, Director, Directorate of Human Space Programme (DHSP), ISRO. Scientific deliberations on a variety of topics like Aviation Medicine, Space Physiology & Medicine, and High Altitude Physiology formed part of the conference, offering valuable insights into operational Aerospace Medicine. The conference celebrated the multi-faceted discipline of Aerospace Medicine and showcased the innovative efforts of IAM in furthering aerospace medicine initiatives in India.

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