11 Indian Pulmonologists, Scientists Shine in Stanford University's Top 2% Scientists List for 2024

Here are the details of the Indian doctors in the Respiratory Medicine field featured in Stanford University's list for 2024:

Dr Sundeep Salvi is the Director of Pulmocare Research and Education (PURE) Foundation based in India. Dr. Sundeep Salvi MD, PhD, Hon FRCP(Lon), is a recipient of the annual ATS World Lung Health Award. After completing his Specialisation in Respiratory Medicine, he obtained a PhD in clinical medicine from the University of Southampton in the UK for his research on air pollution and lung health. He returned back to India in 2002 and set up the Chest Research Foundation and more recently the PURE Foundation where he is actively involved in conducting research, educational programs and advocacy related to asthma and COPD. He has been a pioneer in the field of non-smoking COPD.

He is a Member of the Board of Directors of GOLD and a Scientific Committee Member of GINA. According to Stanford University's list, he is ranked in the top 0.08% of the Respiratory Scientists in the world ranking. Dr. Salvi holds a rank of 7725 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 7810 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 25, with altogether 6115 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations). He has now received recognition as one of the top 2% of scientists across the world, as per the Stanford University's list of 2024 and has the global respiratory rank of 35 which is the highest in the country.

Dr Ritesh Agarwal is a Professor of Pulmonary Medicine at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh. His research interest includes Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Dr. Ritesh Agarwal was born and educated in Chennai (India). He completed his medical school (M.B.B.S) in 1998 from Stanley Medical College, Chennai, and joined the Residency Program in Internal Medicine at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh in 1998. Subsequently, he completed his fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the same institute in 2004. Dr. Agarwal has more than 700 publications to his credit. He has written several chapters in national and international books. He is also co-editor of two books (Oxygen Therapy, Textbook of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine).

He was awarded the ICMR Kamal Satbir Award for the year 2009, the NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Award (Medicine category) for the year 2011, the ICMR Shakuntala Amir Chand Award for the year 2012, the ICMR Chaturvedi Ghanshyam Das Jaigopal Memorial Award for the year 2019, and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for the year 2020, for his work in the field of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Dr. Agarwal is Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, Indian Chest Society and Royal College of Physicians of Glasgow. He has the global respiratory rank of 49 as per his Stanford ranking. Dr. Agarwal holds a rank of 15062 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 9109 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 16, with altogether 1528 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Dr Ashutosh Aggarwal was born and educated in Delhi. He did his MBBS in 1991 and MD (Medicine) in 1994 from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi. He joined the DM programme of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at PGIMER in 1995. After completing his DM (Pulmonary Medicine), he worked as Senior Research Associate in the department and was later selected as Assistant Professor in the department in 1999. His clinical and research interests include pulmonary function testing, bronchoscopy, sleep medicine and respiratory intensive care. He is incharge of the sleep laboratory of the department. He has published more than 175 scientific papers in national and international journals.

He was the Elected National Delegate from India to the European Respiratory Society (2009-11). He secured the International Cancer Related Technology Transfer (ICRETT) Fellowship awarded by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) (2006). He also gained awards like the Bronze Scholarship Award for research presentation at the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress in Vienna, Austria (2003) and the Young Investigators Award for research presentation at the 26th International Congress of the International Society of Internal Medicine (2002). According to the Stanford list, he has a global respiratory rank of 233. Dr. Aggarwal holds a rank of 44834 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 35420 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 13, with altogether 1299 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Dr Anurag Agrawal is the Head of the Koita Center for Digital Health at Ashoka and Dean, Bio Sciences and Health Research, at Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University. He is MBBS, PhD, and Diplomate American Board (Int Med, Pulm Dis, Crit Care). He is also the former director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, a national laboratory of CSIR, India. After completing graduate medical education at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, he further trained in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA, followed by a PhD in Physiology from Delhi University. His primary research is in respiratory biology and his broader interests are in a new vision of health and healthcare seen through the lenses of emerging technologies.

He serves on numerous national and global advisory groups, most recently chairing the World Health Organization technical advisory group for viral evolution. He received the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize in 2014, the Sun Pharma Foundation award in 2020, and is a fellow of the Indian national science academies. His core area of study is pulmonary disease and, in that area, the Indian rank is 5. He has also received recognition as one of the top 2% scientists across the world as per Stanford University's list of 2024 and has a global respiratory rank of 344. Dr. Anurag holds a rank of 52138 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 51471 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 25, with altogether 5624 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Dr Zarir F Udwadia is a consultant chest physician and MD, DNB, FCCP (USA) and FRCP (London) attached to the Hinduja Hospital & Research Centre, Breach Candy Hospital & Research Centre, and Parsee General Hospitals. He has struck the unique balance of combining a busy clinical practice with internationally acclaimed medical research. He sees over 10,000 patients annually in his extremely busy clinics. Special interests include TB, Drug-resistant TB, and ILD. He is a prolific researcher and has over 220 PubMed-indexed medical research publications in the world's premier academic medical journals and has been consistently listed amongst the top 2% of respiratory medicine researchers worldwide in the field of respiratory medicine in annual Stanford University publications and in the top 1% of scholars writing about Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in a MEDSCAPE analysis.

He has been invited to deliver lectures at conferences and universities around the world including the Royal Society of Medicine (London), the Royal College of Physicians (London), the European Respiratory Society, the American College of Chest Physicians, the International TB Union, and several lectures at Harvard Medical College, Boston. He was invited to join the USAID India End-TB alliance and the Global TB Network (GTN) to pursue global TB elimination. He has been an advisor to the WHO, and was invited to Geneva on several occasions to be part of the core committee to formulate both the current TB and MDR-TB guidelines and the current new XDR definition. He was elected to be on a Core Committee of doctors elected by the Indian Supreme Court to form a National Task Force to address critical COVID issues like oxygen, drugs, and vaccinations in India. In 2017 Open Magazine nominated him as one of their twenty-five top minds for his impact on public health. As per the Stanford list, he has a global respiratory rank of 507. He holds a rank of 82621 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 77525 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 18, with altogether 946 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Dr. Devasahayam Jesudas Christopher is an MBBS from The Christian Medical College, Vellore India. Serving as a Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Christian Medical College. He has a plethora of degrees to his credit including BSc DTCD DNB FICS FAPSR FRCP(Glasg) FIARC, and FCCP. Dr D J Christopher is a clinician-scientist involved in research covering a spectrum of Respiratory and Allergy disorders. He has been Principal Investigator in several national and international clinical trials, over the past 17 years. Tuberculosis (TB) has been his major area of research. Multiple publications in high-impact journals have resulted- he has over 270 peer-reviewed publications. He was rated among the top 2% of the respiratory scientists of the World by the Stanford University (2021, 2022 & 2024). He has held leadership positions in international research consortia such as RePORT India – an Indo-US TB research consortium - and now chairs its publications committee. He is chairman of the scientific advisory committee, of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)- National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis {NIRT}, the premier research body of the government of India). Under his leadership, the Pulmonology Department at Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore has been recognized as a Collaborating Center of Excellence for TB research by the ICMR and a Center of Excellence for Allergy by the World Allergy Organization. He heads a vibrant research unit with nearly 40 full-time research staff.

He is currently serving as the Director of the World Allergy Organisation (WAO), Center of Excellence. He is the Principal investigator the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, CMC, Vellore, an ICMR collaborating center of excellence, awarded in recognition of commendable achievements in biomedical research. He has been honoured with several awards including Inspiring Chest Physicians of India, Lifetime Achievement Award’ in recognition of excellence in the field of Respiratory Medicine by the Coimbatore Respiratory Society, Dr.S.N.Tripathi Presidential Oration’, awarded by the Indian Chest Society, CME Excellence Dronacharya Award for exceptional CME contribution in Pulmonary & Respiratory medicine, during the CME Excellence Summit & Awards, and Dr OA Sharma oration award. He has also received recognition as one of the top 2% of scientists across the world as per Stanford University's list of 2024 and has the global respiratory rank of 733. He holds a rank of 100688 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 109438 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 37, with altogether 11430 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Dr S K Jindal joined Jindal Chest Clinics, Chandigarh, after superannuation from PGIMER on April 30th, 2014. He is the former head of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine in PGIMER Chandigarh. He is a distinguished medical teacher and clinician who headed the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India from 1988 to 2014. With over 40 years of experience, he has guided and mentored a large number of pulmonary physicians and other trainees now occupying prestigious positions in different hospitals and institutions both in India and abroad. Dr Jindal was honored with the Outstanding Educator Award (2011) for scientific contributions by the American Thoracic Society. He has also received Honors from other International Bodies such as the American College of Chest Physicians, USA (Governor’s Community Service Award and End-of-life Commendation) and International Union Against TB & Lung Diseases, France (Best Scientific Contributions in Non-tuberculous Lung Diseases).

He has also been awarded by many national agencies including the National Academy of Medical Sciences, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Association of Physicians of India. The Indian Chest Society honored him with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Dr Jindal in the past, has been the President of the Indian Chest Society and other National Associations including the Indian Association of Bronchology and the Indian Association for Sarcoidosis and Granulomatous Lung Diseases. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, American College of Chest Physicians, and of several other scientific and professional organizations. According to the Stanford list, he has the global respiratory rank of 889. He holds a rank of 139080 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 137100 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 8, with altogether 387 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Dr Sahajal Dhooria completed his MBBS and MD (Internal Medicine) from AIIMS, New Delhi. He then joined the DM (Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine) fellowship at PGIMER, Chandigarh, which he completed in December 2013. He has been working as an Assistant Professor in the same department since May 2014. His areas of interest include sarcoidosis, diffuse parenchymal lung diseases, and interventional pulmonology. He also maintains a keen interest in sleep medicine and critical care. Dr. Dhooria has more than 310 publications to his credit. He has also authored several chapters in national and international books. His areas of interest include Interstitial lung diseases, sarcoidosis, and interventional pulmonology. He has been honoured with several awards including the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Smt. Kamal Satbir award (2016). He has now received recognition as one of the top 2% of scientists across the world, as per Stanford University's list of 2024, and has a global respiratory rank of 807. He holds a rank of 163025 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 123106 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 12, with altogether 693 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Dr Raj Kumar is currently serving as the Director, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, Delhi Professor and Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Head, National Centre of Respiratory Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (NCRAAI) Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi. He is MD (Pul. Med.), FAMS, MNASc, MNAMS, FICAAI, FICS, FNCCP(I), MAAAAI, and MACAAI. He is also the Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, of the Institute; Head National Centre of Respiratory Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Coordinator of National Tobacco Quitline Services, and Head of Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi for two consecutive terms. He was nominated by the Vice-Chancellor, University of Delhi as Chairman of WUS Health Centres of University of Delhi-served for 4 years. He is working in this Institute since 1992 when he joined a junior Resident in Respiratory Medicine, then in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine as Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor Director and currently holding this position. Professor Kumar has been credited with the establishment of National Tobacco Quitline Services at VPCI, a pioneering service aimed at controlling and stopping tobacco menace in the society through is unique telephone-based call services devoted to provide Tobacco Cessation Counselling. He has been honoured with several awards including ATS-Public Service Awarded 2024, Outstanding Allergy Scientist Award 2023, QCI Quality Champion Award 2021-22, Eminent Medical and Health Education Teacher Award, and ESDA Global Green Award and so on. According to the Standford list, he has the global respiratory rank of 1097. He holds a rank of 163169 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 168064 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 6, with altogether 273 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Dr. Inderpaul Singh Sehgal was born and educated in Delhi. He completed his medical school (M.B.B.S) in 2002 from Bangalore Medical College and joined the Residency Program in Internal Medicine at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak in 2006. He has also procured Diplomate in National Board in Internal Medicine in 2009. Subsequently, he completed his Fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh in 2014. He is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. His primary research areas are chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, and sepsis. He also maintains a keen interest in interventional pulmonology. Dr. Sehgal has more than 140 publications to his credit. He has written several chapters in national books. He was awarded the First prize in Dr. M. Vishwanathan's Poster session for presenting “Profile of patients of venous thrombosis in Medical wards” at APICON, February 2009, and ICMR Smt. Kamal Satbir Award for the year 2017 in the field of interventional pulmonology. He has now received recognition as one of the top 2% of scientists across the world, as per Stanford University's list of 2024, and has a global respiratory rank of 755. He holds a rank of 168071 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 112937 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 12, with altogether 815 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

Prof Dheeraj Gupta completed his primary education in Chandigarh. He completed his medical graduation in 1984 from Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. He was associated with PGI for the last 28 years. He completed his training in Internal Medicine from PGI, Chandigarh, and later joined as a Senior Resident in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine. Amongst the first 5 DMs in Pulmonary Medicine, he completed his super specialty training in Pulmonary Medicine in 1991. He joined as faculty in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine in 1993 and has been Professor in the same department since 2008. He was a clinician and researcher par excellence. He had several awards and fellowships to his credit. He had recently been conferred with an honorary fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians of London. Dr Dheeraj Gupta was a dedicated teacher and has guided about 85 students in MD, DM, and PhD dissertations and thesis. He was very passionate about his research. His primary research interest was in the area of sarcoidosis. He holds a rank of 240317 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 190342 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 8, with altogether 448 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).