At the inaugural session of the 29th Annual Conference of the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM), Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand State Chapter, Dr. Ashish Joshi, PhD, MBBS, MPH, announced the Anusandhanika Scholarship (अनुसंधानिका छात्रवृत्ति), with the theme “ज्ञान और अनुसंधान की ओर” (Towards Knowledge and Research). Dr. Joshi is Founder of FHTS and Dean and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Memphis School of Public Health. He joined the session online and addressed the delegates in the presence of Shri Subodh Uniyal, Cabinet Minister of Medical Health and Medical Education, Government of Uttarakhand.

The scholarship is exclusively for undergraduate students of government medical colleges in Uttarakhand. It is limited to 10 students and comes with a stipend. Selected students will be supported to frame research questions, collect data from the community, develop health interventions, and monitor health outcomes, while sharing their findings with the people concerned.

The scholarship grew out of Dr. Joshi’s message to the delegates: studying to become a doctor is one achievement, but doing research alongside it helps future doctors understand the health needs of their communities and find solutions that work. Through the Anusandhanika Scholarship, the aim is to build a culture of research among medical students and to encourage innovation and evidence-based solutions for the health needs of communities.