Dr. Rama Jayasundar

AIIMS, Delhi

Abstract:
There is now an increasing realisation that understanding health and wellbeing requires cognisance of spiritual and existential issues as well. However, the challenge current healthcare faces is in bringing together in one and the same framework the beneficial reductionistic scientific information and the subtler dimensions of the patient as a human being. In this context, it is pertinent to note the biopsychosocial-spiritual framework of ayurveda, which includes consciousness as a part of human existence and spiritual health as an integral component of human wellbeing. Ayurveda, in its true sense, is a consciousness-based medical system. The talk will explore the biopsychosocial-spiritual framework that ayurveda has developed for health and disease management.

Bio:
Prof. Rama Jayasundar is currently Professor and Head, Department of NMR & MRI, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. A PhD in Physics from University of Cambridge, UK, she also holds a professional medical degree in Ayurveda, the Indian traditional medicine.
She has pioneered biomedical MR work in India with her area of expertise ranging from Neuroscience applications of MR, MR spectroscopy, Radio-frequency (RF) coil designing & building, and RF pulse sequence programming. She has wide experience in both experimental and clinical MRI and MR spectroscopy. Her indigenously developed low-cost RF coils for clinical MR scanners costing less than 5% of that of the manufacturer’s, had won her the Young Scientist Award. During her stint as a visiting Professor at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, Gottingen, Germany, she worked on functional MRS techniques. She has a number of research publications, awards and honours to her credit. Her current research interests harness her distinct training in experimental MR, physics, ayurveda and modern medicine for innovative work in ayurveda, its concepts, methods, pharmacology and clinical practices using NMR, MRI and a number of analytical techniques.