Partnership Profile

Manipal University-Kasturba Medical College (MU-KMC) is located in Manipal, on the Malabar Coast of Southwest India and is part of the UAB-South Asia International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (ITREOH), a collaborative research training program. MU is the nucleus of 50 educational institutions and 10 hospitals. It is also the center of a comprehensive network of community health services and numerous rural development projects. The Department of Preventive and Social Medicine was established in 1971 and was renamed ten years later as the Department of Community Medicine. The postgraduate training program leading to an MD in Community Medicine and DCM was introduced in January 1986. Since then, the Department has grown tremendously and has begun to manage health care projects funded by international agencies, such as USAID (Manipal Health Project) and the (Ford Foundation Thirthahalli Health Project).

Kasturba Medical College (KMC), Manipal, opened its doors on June 30, 1953. The college started with only the pre-clinical section at Manipal and the students had to go to Mangalore for their clinical training. But with the clinical program having commenced at Manipal in 1969, it became a full-fledged independent college. The first college in the private sector, KMC ranks among the top five medical colleges in the country today. Students from 44 countries have graduated from KMC, and the degrees are recognized worldwide. The Medical Council of India granted recognition in 1958 with the first graduating batch of KMC. Recognition by the General Medical Council of Great Britain and the Malaysian Medical Council soon followed. Today Manipal University (of which KMC is a constituent college) degrees are recognized in all countries.

MU Department of Community Medicine (DCM) was initiated as the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine in 1971. Based on the recommendations of the Medical Council of India, the name of the department was changed to Department of Community Medicine in 1981. The postgraduate training program leading to MD in community medicine and DCM was introduced in January 1986. Since then, the department has grown in stature and strength and has assumed greater responsibilities of managing health care projects funded by international agencies, such as the Manipal Health Project, sponsored by USAID and Thirthahalli Health Project, assisted by Ford Foundation. The Manipal Health Project, sponsored by the USAID and the Medical Relief Society of South Kanara, was largely responsible for strengthening the Rural Maternity and Child Welfare homes in Udupi taluk and the creation of a good field practice area in Karkala. The DCM faculty has provided consultant services to central and state governments for the evaluation of national health programs and has contributed substantially to research in the field of public health. Due to collaborative efforts with the UAB-South Asia ITREOH Program, MU will offer a graduate degree program in public health (MPH) beginning in Fall 2009.

Examples of trainee-led pilot research projects in India include:

India – Manipal University:
Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability (CUPID)
A Multi-center Study to assess Fine particle matter (PM2.5) Air Pollution due to Secondhand smoke in public places