Kashmir: GMC Srinagar Secures National Research Grant to Pioneer Personalised Treatment for Brain Injury Patients

SRINAGAR: Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar has secured a major research grant from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to develop a personalised approach to treating traumatic brain injuries, a milestone that places the Kashmiri institution among the country’s emerging leaders in neurocritical care research.

The grant, awarded to the Department of Anaesthesia, Critical Care, Pain and Palliative Medicine, will fund a pioneering study using transcranial Doppler-based autoregulation indices to guide individualised cerebral perfusion pressure in patients with severe brain injuries. The project is led by Dr Rayees Najib, Assistant Professor, under the mentorship of Professor Hina Bashir, Head of the Department.

The study aims to integrate advanced brain monitoring with molecular biomarkers that reveal cellular damage, allowing doctors to determine precisely how much blood flow each patient’s brain requires for optimal recovery. If successful, the project could transform clinical practices in India’s intensive care units, where head injuries remain among the leading causes of death and disability, particularly from road accidents.

“This grant recognises not only the scientific potential of our proposal but also the growing research capabilities in Srinagar,” said Dr Rayees Najib. “Our goal is to move toward personalised brain care — understanding how each patient’s brain responds to trauma and adjusting treatment accordingly.”

The ICMR’s decision to fund the project is being seen as a recognition of the growing strength of advanced medical research in Kashmir, a region where healthcare has long faced infrastructural limitations. It also marks GMC Srinagar’s first major national research funding in neurocritical care, signalling the institution’s entry into India’s expanding network of academic medicine.

Professor Hina Bashir said the department’s collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare underscores the urgency of improving critical care standards in peripheral regions. “We are working to bridge the gap between advanced research and clinical application,” she said. “Traumatic brain injury is not just a hospital problem — it’s a public health challenge.”

She added that the project seeks to pioneer individualised cerebral perfusion management by integrating neuromonitoring techniques and brain injury biomarkers, creating a precision-based model of care for patients in critical conditions.

“The ICMR recognition highlights GMC Srinagar’s growing contribution to cutting-edge neurocritical care research and marks a proud moment for the institution’s academic and clinical excellence,” she said.

According to national health data, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) kill an estimated 1.5 lakh people annually in India and leave hundreds of thousands with long-term disabilities. Most public hospitals still rely on standardised treatment protocols instead of patient-specific, real-time monitoring. Road traffic accidents account for nearly 60 per cent of TBIs, with young men disproportionately affected. The poor availability of pre-hospital care and limited trauma infrastructure — particularly in rural and lower-income areas — contributes to the high mortality rate, as nearly 95 per cent of trauma victims may not receive optimal care within the critical “golden hour” after injury.

The GMC Srinagar study will deploy transcranial Doppler ultrasound to continuously measure blood flow in the brain’s major arteries, enabling doctors to tailor blood pressure targets to match each patient’s unique autoregulatory capacity — a practice rarely used in Indian hospitals.

Experts say this research could lay the foundation for national guidelines on precision-based neurocritical care, helping reduce complications such as secondary brain swelling and oxygen deprivation. The team also plans to correlate Doppler findings with biochemical markers in the blood, creating a clinical framework that integrates physiological monitoring with molecular-level insights.

If successful, GMC Srinagar’s research could redefine how Indian hospitals manage brain injuries — shifting from one-size-fits-all protocols to personalised, data-driven care that gives every patient a better chance at recovery.