When 26 Postgraduates Get National Thesis Funding, Here's What It Means for Your PG Career
When 26 Postgraduates Get National Thesis Funding, Here's What It Means for Your PG Career
26 postgraduate students of Santosh Deemed to be University have been selected for ICMR-DHR MD/MS/MDS Thesis Funding: 17 MD/MS students from Santosh Medical College & Hospital and 9 MDS students from Santosh Dental College & Hospital.
What is ICMR-DHR MD/MS/MDS Thesis Funding?
ICMR-DHR MD/MS/MDS Thesis Funding is a national scheme, run through the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of Health Research (DHR), that supports the thesis research of postgraduate medical and dental students. Selection is competitive: a student submits a research proposal, developed with a faculty guide, for national review.
In practice, it means a student's thesis is treated as a research project worth investing in, not just a degree requirement.
Why does thesis funding matter for a postgraduate student's career?
Three reasons stand out.
- It's an external validation. A nationally selected proposal shows that your research question and study design held up outside your own institution.
- It strengthens your profile. Super-speciality applications, fellowships and
research-track roles increasingly look for documented research experience, not just a completed thesis.
- It signals the environment. A college where PG students regularly secure national funding usually has guides who know how to build fundable proposals.
Who were selected from Santosh Deemed to be University?
MD/MS students of Santosh Medical College & Hospital (17)
| # | Student | Guide | Department | Thesis Topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr. Kush | Dr. Alka Agrawal | Paediatrics | Early predictors of CPAP failure in preterm infants with respiratory distress |
| 2 | Dr. Jai Niket Singh | Dr. Urmila Jhamb | Paediatrics | Patient transport practices and their effect on children's clinical status on arrival at a tertiary-care Pediatric Emergency Department |
| 3 | Dr. Kritika Garg | Dr. Veenu Agarwal | Paediatrics | Microbiological profile, antibiotic resistance and clinical outcomes of neonatal sepsis in the NICU |
| 4 | Dr. Aditya Chauhan | Dr. Abhishek Jain | Paediatrics | Feeding practices and prevalence of anaemia in children under 2 years |
| 5 | Dr. Kshetrimayum Navani Devi | Dr. Saumya Gaur | Transfusion Medicine / I.H.B.T. | Predictive utility of platelet indices for bleeding risk and platelet transfusion need in thrombocytopenic patients |
| 6 | Dr. Tinusha Rani | Dr. Tarun Malhotra | ENT | Subjective and objective indicators in allergic rhinosinusitis using SNOT-22, skin prick test and nasal endoscopy |
| 7 | Dr. Niharika Malik | Dr. Swati Singh | Pathology | Updated Sydney System in chronic gastritis, with H. pylori assessment by modified Giemsa stain |
| 8 | Dr. Siddharth Katyal | Dr. Syed Hasan Nawaz Zaidi | Community Medicine | Work-related musculoskeletal disorders and health-seeking behaviour among industrial workers in Ghaziabad district |
| 9 | Dr. Sourabh | Dr. Juhi Aggarwal | Biochemistry | Transcriptomic and biochemical profiling of uremic dyslipidemia in hemodialysis patients |
| 10 | Dr. Monam Tripathi | Dr. Manisha Gupta | OBG | Pap smear, colposcopy and histopathology in women with post-coital bleeding |
| 11 | Dr. Priya Kumari | Dr. Deviak Mor | OBG | Perinatal outcomes in pregnancies complicated by maternal thrombocytopenia |
| 12 | Dr. Milind Mondal | Dr. Rinku Garg | Physiology | Inflammatory biomarkers (hs-CRP, IL-6, NLR) in epilepsy (GTCS) patients versus healthy controls |
| 13 | Dr. Ananya Kumar | Dr. Ram Chander | Dermatology | Nailfold capillaroscopy in chronic kidney disease, including patients on maintenance hemodialysis |
| 14 | Dr. Gaurav Sehrawat | Dr. Anupam Kumar Singh | General Medicine | NEWS2 score, RDW-to-albumin ratio and CRP-to-albumin ratio in predicting sepsis outcomes |
| 15 | Dr. Simranjit Kaur | Dr. Tarun Malhotra | ENT | Intravenous vs topical dexamethasone on postoperative outcomes in thyroid surgery |
| 16 | Dr. Siddharth Singh | Dr. Anupam Kumar Singh | General Medicine | Metabolic-risk indices and early renal-liver injury in metabolically unhealthy normal-weight adults |
| 17 | Dr. Kratika Saxena | Dr. Sarita Aggarwal | Ophthalmology | Effect of atropine 0.05 percent on refractive and ocular parameter in children 5-15 years with progressive myopia |
MDS students at Santosh Dental College & Hospital (9)
| # | Student | Mentor | Department | Thesis Topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr. Kavita Banga | Dr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta | Prosthodontics | Soft-tissue healing and crestal bone levels around photo-functionalized vs non-functionalized implants in smokers (randomized controlled trial) |
| 2 | Dr. Aarshi Gupta | Dr. Natasha Gambhir | Pediatric & Preventive Dentistry | Cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of glass-ionomer cement with nano-chitosan (in-vitro) |
| 3 | Dr. Anshu Kataria | Dr. Avantika Tuli | Pediatric & Preventive Dentistry | Kedo Bio D+, Biodentine and MTA as indirect pulp capping agents in children (in-vivo) |
| 4 | Dr. Meenu Chauhan | Dr. Kanika Bhalla | Oral Pathology | Epstein-Barr virus LMP-1 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma, oral epithelial dysplasia and normal mucosa |
| 5 | Dr. Surbhi Grover | Dr. Kanika Bhalla | Oral Pathology | Immunohistochemical expression of Caveolin-1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma, oral epithelial dysplasia and normal mucosa |
| 6 | Dr. Krati Nath | Dr. Rajiv Ahluwalia | Orthodontics | Ultraviolet light vs chemical disinfection for reducing microbial load on orthodontic aligners (ex-vivo) |
| 7 | Dr. Amey Sangar | Dr. Ashutosh | Orthodontics | Cytotoxicity of clear aligner materials coated with TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles on human gingival fibroblasts (in-vitro) |
| 8 | Dr. Vibhav | Dr. Tina Chugh | Orthodontics | Cytotoxicity and oxidative stress of nanochitosan-modified orthodontic primers on gingival fibroblasts (in-vitro) |
| 9 | Dr. Gourish Poddar | Dr. Chetna Arora | Endodontics | Validation of a self-diagnostic questionnaire for identifying the need for root canal treatment in adults |
What kinds of research were selected?
The projects cover the full range of what postgraduate research can be:
- Bedside clinical studies: neonatal sepsis, CPAP failure in preterm infants, sepsis outcome scoring, thyroid surgery recovery.
- Laboratory and molecular work: transcriptomic profiling of uremic dyslipidemia, and biomarker studies in epilepsy.
- Community-based research: work-related musculoskeletal disorders among industrial workers in Ghaziabad.
- Dental materials and biology: nano-chitosan cements, nanoparticle-coated aligners, and oral cancer markers such as EBV LMP-1 and Caveolin-1.
- Trials and validation studies: an implant randomized controlled trial and a questionnaire validation study in endodontics.
By study design, the MD/MS list has six prospective observational studies, five cross-sectional studies and a spread of case-control, cohort and randomized designs. The MDS list has three in-vitro studies, three cross-sectional studies, two randomized controlled studies and one ex-vivo study.
The bigger picture: one campus, three levels of ICMR-granted research projects
This result doesn't stand alone. In 2026, Santosh has ICMR-linked research recognition at every stage of the academic ladder:
| Level | ICMR-linked recognition | Santosh result |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate (MBBS/BDS) | ICMR Short-Term Studentship (STS) 2026 | 17 students selected |
| Postgraduate (MD/MS/MDS) | ICMR-DHR Thesis Funding 2026 | 26 students selected |
| Faculty | ICMR Anveshan Extramural Grant | ₹81,58,936, the university's first exclusive grant of this scale |
An undergraduate who joins Santosh today can see a visible path, from a first STS project to a funded postgraduate thesis, with faculty who have secured national grants of their own.
What this tells you if you're choosing a PG college in Delhi NCR
Comparing the best medical and dental colleges in Delhi NCR usually starts with seats, hospital beds and faculty strength. A more useful question for an MD, MS or MDS aspirant is this: will my thesis be taken seriously?
This announcement gives a concrete answer. 26 students across 16 departments in both colleges secured national thesis funding, and their guides include heads of department and senior faculty.
Looking ahead
Congratulations to all 26 students and their guides. As they begin their funded research, Santosh Deemed to be University looks forward to the findings, publications and conference presentations that follow. The university continues to be recognised among the best medical colleges in Delhi NCR and best dental colleges in Delhi NCR, with research now visible from the first year of MBBS and BDS through postgraduate study.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many Santosh students were selected for ICMR-DHR Thesis Funding 2026?
26 postgraduate students: 17 MD/MS students from Santosh Medical College & Hospital and 9 MDS students from Santosh Dental College & Hospital.
2.What is ICMR-DHR MD/MS/MDS Thesis Funding?
It is a national funding scheme, run through the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Department of Health Research, that supports the thesis research of selected postgraduate medical and dental students.
3. Which departments at Santosh had students selected?
Eleven medical departments (Paediatrics, Transfusion Medicine, ENT, Pathology, Community Medicine, Biochemistry, OBG, Physiology, Dermatology, General Medicine and Ophthalmology) and five dental departments (Prosthodontics, Pediatric & Preventive Dentistry, Oral Pathology, Orthodontics and Endodontics).
4. How does funded thesis research help a postgraduate student's career?
It gives students a nationally validated research project. This strengthens applications for super-speciality courses, fellowships and research-track roles and builds skills in study design, data analysis and scientific writing.
5. How does this compare with other medical and dental colleges in Delhi NCR?
It shows research support running from undergraduate ICMR-STS selections (17 in 2026) to postgraduate thesis funding (26 in 2026) and a faculty-level ICMR Anveshan grant of ₹81,58,936, all within one campus.
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