India’s biggest conference on integrative Ayurveda and modern medicine, with 60 experts and 1,000 delegates from around the world participating, is set to begin at Kochi’s Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences on August 6, 2017. The two-day event, titled Amrita Samyogam 2017, is being held in collaboration with Amrita University’s School of Ayurveda. It will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for AYUSH, Shripad Yasso Naik.
Eminent medical experts attending the Conference include: Dr. Jeffrey White, Director of National Cancer Institute, USA; Dr. Daniel Furst, Rheumatologist at University of California; Dr. Nereo Bresolin, Neurologist, University of Milan; Dr. Christian Kessler, Internal Medicine Specialist, Charite Medical University, Germany; Dr. Valdis Pirags, Diabetologist, University of Latvia; Dr. Maryam Matar, Genetics Specialist, UAE; Dr. Ravi Mehrotra, Director, National Institute for Cancer Prevention and Research, Noida, Dr. B.N. Gangadhar, Director, NIMHANS, Bengaluru; Dr. Rama Jayasundar, Professor, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Dr. Ketaki Bapat, Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, and many others.
The Conference will bring together allopathic doctors, Ayurveda practitioners and modern scientists on a common platform. It will identify strategies for integrating Ayurveda with Allopathy in the management of cancer, auto-immune diseases like arthritis, diabetes, neuro-degenerative diseases, and mental health. The event will demonstrate how integrative medicine can be made a reality through examples of clinical integration, basic science studies, and application of new technologies.
Said Prof. Shantikumar Nair, Director, Centre for Nanosciences & Molecular Medicine, Amrita University: “Integrating India’s ancient tradition of Ayurveda with evidence-based modern medicine has the potential to revolutionize world healthcare. Integrative medicine is becoming a popular specialty among physicians in Western countries because of the myriad ways in which it can benefit patients. It focuses on healing the person in entirety rather than merely treating the symptoms by investigating the root cause of illness. It is much more patient-centric and can positively impact chronic and lifestyle diseases for which modern medicine has no answer. Western medicine and Indian ancient healing sciences can be a win-win combination to effectively tackle the enormous healthcare challenges facing humanity.”
The Conference will focus on evidence-based practice guidelines for cross-referrals and combination therapy, understanding the biological mechanisms underlying integrative care, and integration of modern technological tools in Ayurvedic diagnostics, treatment procedures and drug delivery.
Amrita Samyogam 2017 is expected to trigger important collaborations across the world in the field of integrative medicine, especially academic collaborations and funding opportunities. An International Journal of Integrative Health will be launched at the event and a Society for Integrative Health will be established to promote the development of Integrative Medicine in India.
