Dr. Prakash

A. Basic science research:

To understand the pathogenesis of obesity and metabolic disorders in our population

In collaboration with public health and family physicians and clinical biochemists, we plan to investigate the biomarkers of obesity and their relationships with body composition and anthropometric measurements. Related research interests are to study about dietary patterns and critical appraisal of the published literature on obesity and metabolic disorders. 

Ongoing project: Study on association of adipokines with body composition parameters in men (Institutional fluid research funding)

B. Medical education scholarship and research:

To investigate the motivation, career preference and learning process of medical students

We design and conduct questionnaire-based surveys to analyze the perceptions of medical students with respect to their motivations to join medicine and factors influencing the future career preference. Another area of interest is to study how medical students learn medicine during the MBBS course with respect to their approaches and self-regulation behaviors.

Ongoing project: Study on association of self-regulated learning in pre-clinical medical students and their relation to motivation and career preference (Institutional fluid research funding)

C. Systematic literature reviews:

To conduct scoping reviews as a member of the Lancet commission on re-imagining India’s health system

I am a part of various teams working to systematically search and analyze the available evidence on various domains of interest as listed by the Lancet commission on re-imagining India’s health system.

Ongoing projects: 3 scoping reviews on perspectives of Indian patients and caregivers, on human resources management practices among healthcare workers in India and on human resources for health for achieving universal healthcare in India are currently underway.

D. Others:

Conceptual and theoretical research in Biochemistry and immunology

There is a dearth of theory or its use in biological sciences unlike in any other fields of human endeavor. One of the goals of this research work is to propose and critically evaluate a broad theory of biology that is applicable to medicine in the understanding of various physiological and pathological processes.

Ongoing project: A proposal of biological life based on immunity and metabolism