PGI Chandigarh trainee doctor wins international award for infantile epilepsy research

Chandigarh: Dr Parth Lal, a DM trainee in paediatric neurology at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, has become the first Indian to receive the prestigious 2025 paediatric neurology trainee award for his research on infantile epileptic spasms syndrome (IESS).

The award was presented on Friday at the 2026 Child Neurology Society meeting in Montreal, Canada, the institute said.

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According to PTI, Lal received the recognition for his “NitRIS trial”, published in Pediatric Neurology, which provided proof-of-concept evidence for the potential effectiveness of nitrazepam in children with IESS, a challenging form of epilepsy in infancy that can be difficult to treat, it said.

In December 2025, Dr Lal also received the Suzanne and Peter Berry International Travel Award from the American Epilepsy Society, being one of the only two young investigators worldwide selected from 1,500 international submissions, the statement said.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that in recognition of its sustained efforts to strengthen tobacco control in India, the Resource Centre for Tobacco Control (RCTC) at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, has been conferred the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director's Special Recognition Award. The award acknowledges the centre's contributions to digital public health, generating evidence, policy support, and capacity building in tobacco control.

The award was presented at the WHO Country Office in New Delhi. The recognition honours institutions and individuals for outstanding contributions towards advancing tobacco control through innovation, digital public health, evidence generation, and policy support.

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