GUWAHATI, Jan 25 - City-based dermatologist Dr KN Barua, also a former principal of the Gauhati Medical College, was awarded the Life Time Achievement Award-2018 by the Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists at its 46th annual conference held at Kochi from January 18 to 21, along with Dr CR Srinivas from Coimbatore, said a press release here today.
Every year one or two eminent dermatologists from India are chosen for this award during the annual conference of the association based on their contributions in the fields of dermatology, venereology, leprosy, medial education and research. DR Barua is the first dermatologist from the North East to receive this honour. He is currently the chief consultant at Dr KN Barua Institute of Dermatological Sciences, Guwahati.
Dr Barua is not only an eminent dermatologist of this region but also an opinion maker in many critical issues. His role in the introduction of post graduate medical education in dermatology in Assam and in some medical colleges in the southern states while he was a member of the Medical Council of India, is widely acclaimed.
In the early eighties Dr Barua started treating severe skin conditions like pemphigus in Assam by a new method called DCP which is now an accepted method of treatment of many severe skin conditions.
He is one of the few to introduce surgical procedures in dermatology in India in the early seventies. Dr Barua, together with several other doctors from various parts of India and thousands of leprosy workers, worked hard and made the leprosy eradication programme a success.
Dr Barua conducted leprosy surveys among beggars and school children in greater Guwahati in the eighties. He organised surveys, seminars and exhibitions in leprosy-infested areas like Diphu, Kuthori (Nagaon) and Nalbari, which helped tremendously in eradication of leprosy.
He has received many awards like Teacher Par Excellence, 2009; Father of Clinical Dermatology, 2016, besides the Life Time Achievement Award, 2018 of the Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists, for his contributions in the field of dermatology, the press release added.
