7 Indian Anesthesiologists, Scientists earn recognition in Standford University 2024 list of World's Top 2% Scientists

New Delhi: Seven renowned anesthesiologists and scientists from various prestigious health and medical institutes across India have been recognised among the world’s top 2% of scientists in the prestigious database curated by Professor John P.A. Ioannidis of Stanford University, in collaboration with the Elsevier Data Repository. 

This honour acknowledges their pioneering research, clinical achievements, and consistent impact on the field. The database of Stanford University for the year 2024 of top-cited scientists provides standardized information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score). The selection is based on the top 100,000 scientists by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a 2% or above percentile rank in the sub-field. 

The selected Indian Anesthesiologists and Researchers in Stanford University's list 2024 include:

Dr Priya Ranganathan

A well-known and well-trained anesthesiologist, Dr Priya is currently working as a Professor of anesthesiology at the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai. She has specialised in thoracic anesthesiology (which involves anaesthesia for cancers of the lung, oesophagus and other chest structures). She has a special interest in developing clinical research capacity and is the convener of the CReDO (International Collaboration for Research Methods Development in Oncology) workshop, organized by the National Cancer Grid of India (NCG).  

CReDO is an intensive residential oncology research protocol development workshop that trains oncology researchers to convert their research ideas into full-fledged protocols over the span of one week. She is the convener of the Masters in Clinical Research degree programme at the TMC, and has organized and been faculty in several other short courses in clinical research methodology, biostatistics and critical appraisal. She has completed the Global Clinical Scholars Research Training program offered by Harvard Medical School. She has completed her MBBS and MD in anesthesiology from Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College and KEM Hospital. 

Dr Priya holds a rank of 76,813 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 89,132 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, her h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 10, with a total of 515 citations for the year, also excluding self-citations. 

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Dr Yatin Mehta

A renowned anesthesiologist and the Chairman of the Institute of Critical Care and Anesthesiology at Medanta, Gurugram, Dr Mehta is also a teacher and examiner for Fellowship in Critical Care and Cardiac Anaesthesia, National Board of Examinations and ISCCM & IACTA fellowship in India. He is the National Coordinator for Dr. Rosenthals International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) and has many international publications in ICU sepsis.

Previously, he served as the Senior Consultant of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at Apollo Hospital, New Delhi and as Director of the Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi. 

Dr Mehta was awarded FIACTA (Honorary), Fellow in TEE by the Indian Association of Cardiovascular Thoracic Anaesthesiologists in 2009 and FICCM (honorary) by the Indian College of Critical Care Medicine. He has been a visiting consultant to the Uppsala Cardiothoracic Department many times. He is on the editorial board of many journals. He has to his credit over 200 publications and 250 presentations at conferences. 

According to the list, he has ranked 1,42,404 based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 1,45,873 when all citations are included. As of the end of 2023, her h-index, excluding self-citations, is 13, with 1,914 total citations in 2023, excluding self-citations. He was Vice President of the ISCCM Delhi branch and has been an ISCCM executive committee member for two terms. He was the President (2004-05) of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular Thoracic Anaesthesiologists (IACTA).

Dr Jigeeshu Vasishtha Divatia

As the Professor and Head of the Department of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain at Tata Memorial Hospital, Dr Jigeeshu Vasishtha Divatia lead a team of experts in providing high-quality and compassionate care to patients with complex and challenging conditions. He is the former Director of Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospitals at Mullanpur and Sangrur, Punjab. 

With over 36 years of experience in anaesthesia and intensive care, Dr Divatia is passionate about advancing the field through education, research, and innovation. He is the President of the Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists and a former President of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine. He has trained and collaborated with renowned institutions in India and abroad and contributed to over 190 publications in national and international journals. 

As of the end of 2023, Dr Jigeeshu ranked 1,75,233 based on the composite score without self-citations, and 1,61,225 when including all citations. His h-index, excluding self-citations, reached 15, with 1,132 total citations in 2023, also excluding self-citations. He holds a Diploma in Medicolegal Systems from the Symbiosis Institute of Health Care and has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Anaesthesia. He completed his MD (Anaesthesia) from Mumbai University in 1988, a Fellowship of the Indian College of Critical Care Medicine (FICCM) in 2012, Fellowship of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (FISCCM) in 2010. 

Dr Rakesh Garg

Esteemed Professor at the Department of Onco-Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Medicine at Dr BRAIRCH, All India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi, Dr Rakesh Garg has over 20 years of experience and skills in anaesthesiology, critical care, pain, and palliative medicine. He has a particular interest in Clinical, Teaching and Research activities. He is particularly interested in Onco-Anaesthesia, Pain, Airway and Palliative Medicine and is involved in regional analgesia for both acute and chronic pain. He has immense research exposure in difficult airway management.

Dr Garh has over 260 National and International publications and has authored over 20 book Chapters. He has delivered over 250 guest lectures and panel discussions at various National and International Conferences/CMEs/Workshops. He has conducted over 50 workshops in this field. Apart from Anesthesiology services, he is presently involved in Pain Medicine and Palliative care management of cancer patients. He serves as an editor, editorial board member and Reviewer for various national and International journals. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Anaesthesia.

As per the list, Dr Rakesh holds a rank of 2,09,171 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 2,15,090 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 7, with altogether 367 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

He has a Fellowship in Palliative Medicine from the Institute of Palliative Medicine. He graduated from the University College of Medical Sciences (Delhi University) and got his MD in Anaesthesiology from Maulana Azad Medical College (Delhi University). He received further training from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. After that, he joined the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital as an Assistant Professor. Later on, he joined as an Assistant Professor at All India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi, India and was presently promoted to Professor.

Dr Sukhminder Jit Singh Bajwa

Dr Sukhminder Jit Singh Bajwa is presently working as Prof & Head in the Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Gian Sagar Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India. He has been working as Editor of various National and International Journals for the last 14 Years and has been teaching Anaesthesiology and Critical Care subjects for more than 25 years. 

His areas of Interest are Obstetrics, Neuroanaesthesia Research Methodology & Emergency Medicine. He got academic appreciation from Sir R.D. Miller in 2003. He has published 8 book chapters including “Anaesthesia for Endocrine Surgery” in Lee’s Synopsis of Anaesthesia, 415+ National & International Publications, 7 Indian National Guidelines in Anaesthesia/Medicine/Endocrinology. 

As per the list, Dr Sukhminder holds a rank of 2,47,759 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 2,47,274 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, his h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 6, with altogether 178 citations for 2023 (excluding self-citations).

He served as Editor in Chief of the Indian Journal of Anaesthesia (Northern Chapter 2015-2022), Associate Editor in Chief of the Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, Associate Editor in Chief of JOACP and is currently an EB Member of 30+ International and National Journals. 

He has also served as Hon. Secretary of Punjab State ISA, National Governing Council Member ISA (2017-2021) and presently serving as Honorary Secretary Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists. He has won the KPR Best Young Anaesthesiologist of India2012, best Research Paper: Indian Journal of Urology-2013, ISA President Appreciation Award for starting Northern Supplement of ISA-IJA 2015, ISA President Award for developing Research Methodology Module 2015 and ISA National Bhopal Award for Academic Excellence-2022.

Prof. Ravi Prakash Mahajan

Director of Critical Care Integration and Transformation, and Director of Research and Innovation at Apollo Hospitals Group, Professor Ravi is a leader in UK Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, more recently as President, the Royal College of Anaesthetists. His important international portfolios include Editor in Chief of the British Journal of Anaesthesia (2012-2016); Council member, of Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) since 2007; Chairman Safety and Quality Committee, European Society of Anaesthesiology (2012-2016); Chairman, Ethics Committee, Nottingham University (2016-2019); Vice President, Royal College of Anaesthetists (2016-2018) and Medicolegal and Ethics Expert for the court of law in the UK.

He has well over 200 Peer-Reviewed International Publications and has co-authored five textbooks. He has successfully established and led a number of international networks and organizations. These include the Safe Anaesthesia Liaison Group (Founding Chairman SALG); the Safety Committee of the European Society of Anesthesiology; the National Institute of Academic Anaesthesia (Founding Board Member and Chairman NIAA); and very recently the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) and International Academy of the Colleges of Anaesthesiology.

As of the end of 2023, Prof Ravi ranked 3,68,731 based on the composite score without self-citations, and 4,17,898 when including all citations. His h-index, excluding self-citations, reached 5, with 117 total citations in 2023, also excluding self-citations. 

Professor Ravi's services to the field of medicine, with a long track record of International Leadership in improving patient care through Professional Standards, Quality Improvement, Education and Research, were recognised recently with the award of CBE (Commander of the Order of British Empire) in 2022 Queen’s New Years Honour List of Great Britain and Commonwealth.

In his current position at Apollo Hospitals Group, he has led the introduction and implementation of comprehensive connected care, a pioneering transformational program for health care delivery in India. He is responsible for bringing in innovative transformational initiatives that require extensive stakeholder engagement alongside an interface between technology and medicine and overseeing international projects from conception to complete roll-out. In addition, he is responsible for overseeing all the aspects related to Research and Innovation.

Dr Niraj Gopinath 

Associate Professor at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine at Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Dr Niraj Gopinath is also a Consultant in Pain Medicine & Anaesthesia at University Hospitals of Leicester, United Kingdom. 

He completed his doctoral training in Anaesthesia at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCOA), United Kingdom. He has completed advanced training in Pain Medicine and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Pain Medicine, London. He leads the Clinical Research Unit in Pain Medicine at Leicester, UK.

Dr Niraj holds a rank of 4,30,045 in the list based on the composite score excluding self-citations, and 3,36,787 when all citations are included. By the end of 2023, her h-index, excluding self-citations, stands at 6, with a total of 85 citations for the year, also excluding self-citations.