Medicine is a field constantly brimming with advances, the advances being investigative, diagnostic,therapeutic or otherwise. In a profession which demands a constant awareness of these advances, our aim is to consolidate and assess what a young medical researcher has to offer.
If India has to emerge as a global leader in medicine and health it is necessary that its medical research and education should be of global quality. Medical research continues to be a highly neglected area that should be strengthened urgently.
Declining interest of medicos in research is a global phenomenon, worst affecting the developing countries. In order to promote research culture in medicos, the
Moving Academy of Medicine and Biomedicine organized the
First National Medical Students' Research Conference in October 2006 in Pune for graduate medical students. It provided them a forum to interact with fellow students through platform and poster presentation of their research projects. Simultaneously, they were exposed to current trends, through plenary and invited lectures by experts in different branches of medicine and biomedicine.
Encouraged by the feedback by the first conference, the Academy organized the First Asian and Second National Medical Students' Research Conference in February 2008. 350 abstracts were received and 180 (70 platform; 110 poster presentation) students from all over the country presented their research papers at the venue.
The need of a students' body to host the conference in various parts of the country in rotation and to promote research activities among the medical students at a national level was increasingly felt. It was decided that this should be an annual event finally converting it into a Medical Students' Science Congress in line with the Indian Science Congress. It was further recommended by the participants of the second conference that a National Body be founded. Subsequently a group of students under the able guidance of Dr Madhav G Deo worked out the Constitution of Indian Forum For Medical Students' Research (INFORMER) which is now a registered organization under the Societies Registration Act 1860 & B.P.T. Act 1950.
Objectives of INFORMER 1. To promote research and research-embedded education amongst undergraduate students both at the national and international level.
2. To secure and manage funds and endowments for the promotion of these objectives.
3. To perform all other acts that may assists in, or be necessary for the fulfillment of the above mentioned objectives as well as any additional objectives as approved by the Society.
