Chennai, 19th January 2010 Sri Ramachandra University today launched a Masters Programme in Public Health (Occupational and Environmental Health), in association with the University of California, Berkeley, USA. This two year-four semester study will be started by the Department of Environmental Health Engineering of SRU in collaboration with the School of Public Health, UC Berkeley for which an MOU was signed by Dr.S.P.Thyagarajan, Pro Chancellor (Research), SRU and Dr.Stephen M.Shortell, Dean, School of Public Health, US Berkeley. Speaking on the occasion, Dr.Shortell said there is enormous work to be done in the future in meeting the public health challenges of this century including pandemic diseases, climate change, chronic illness and infectious diseases, inequity in access to health care facilities and modernization of health care delivery systems. Dr.S.P.Thyagarajan said the MPH programme in Occupational and Environmental Health, a first of its kind in India, will be started from the next academic year. He said the SRU- UC,Berkeley inter institutional collaboration is supported by the International Training and Research Programme in Environmental and Occupational Health Programme of the Fogarty International Centre, National Institutes of Health USA. The objectives of the MOU he said include training of SRU faculty, joint Research and launch of Masters Programme in Public Health. Dr.Kalpana Balakrishnan, Professor and HOD of Occupational and Environmental Health of SRU who along with Dr.Shortell will spearhead the programme said that the MOU formalizes the decade long collaboration with UC-Berkeley. MBBS, Engineering and Master of Science students can take up the Masters Programme in Public Health and some of them can do PHD in this field. People who have to ensure compliance of environmental and pollution control regulations will benefit from this study she added. Speaking on the occasion, Dr.Kirk R.Smith, Professor of Global Environmental Health, UC-Berkeley said that Sri Ramachandra University is making a pioneering effort by launching this MPH programme and expressed the hope that it will have a multiplier effect in providing the large pool of talent that is needed in this field. In the United States over fifty Schools of Public Health turn out thousands of professional, he said. Mr.V.R.Venkataachalam, Chancellor who honoured the distinguished guests also extended an invitation to Dr.Krik Smith to be a visiting professor of SRU. In his presidential address, Mr.Balakrishnan, Chairman, Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board said that the board had taken up some environmental field studies with the help of Sri Ramachandra University and currently a study is being made of the hazardous wastes in chrome in Tanneries in North Arcot district. He also announced that the Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board will sponsor two of its engineers and scientists every year for the course. Dr. Lalit Kant, Head, Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, ICMR, said that SRU is in the process of being recognised as Centre for Advance Research for Environmental Health-Air Pollution by the council. Mr. S.Raghunathan, Chief Inspector of Factories, Tamilnadu said his organisation will fully cooperate with SRU in the MPH programme. Earlier in his welcome address, Dr.S.Rangaswami, Vice Chancellor said the collaboration with University of California-Berkeley is the result of the constant pursuit of SRU in forging international collaborations that started with Harvard Medical International in bringing the best in education, health care and research to our people. Dr.K.V.Somasundaram, Dean of Faculties, SRU extended the vote of thanks. .......................................................... For more information please contact Dr.Kalpana Balakrishnan, HOD, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, SRU
