Draft:Shanmuganthan Rajasekeran

Shanmuganathan Rajasekaran is an Indian orthopaedic spine surgeon. He is known for his work in spine tuberculosis, spine deformity corrections, and disc research. He has won many national and international accolades for his research & is considered among the top 2% of scientists contributing to orthopeaeic and spine surgery. He is the director of the orthopaedic and spine surgery division of Ganga Medical Centre and Hospitals Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore, which is currently one of the largest orthopaedic specialty hospital in South Asia with 650 beds and 35 operating theatres.

Education
S. Rajasekaran was born to the Late Dr. J. G Shanmuganathan and Kanakavalli Shanmuganathan on June 30, 1958, in Magudanchavadi, Salem, Tamil Nadu. His primary medical school training was at Coimbatore Medical college and postgraduate training was at Madras Medical College . He later went to the United Kingdom & completed his FRCS(Edinburgh)(1989) and MCh (University of Liverpool)(1990). He received a PhD degree for his work from Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University in 2000. He was also awarded the FRCS (Hon) by the Royal College of Surgeons, London in 2009.

Rajasekaran has a distinguished academic career, being the


 * Best Outgoing Student of Coimbatore Medical College, 1983
 * Ranking First in postgraduate training in MS Orthopedics, 1987
 * ‘Khazenifer Gold Medal’ and the ‘Norman Roberts Medal’ for best performance during his M.Ch exams in the UK

Clinical work
Rajasekaran and his brother, Shanmuganathan Rajasabapathy, returned from their training abroad and started a specialty center for orthopaedics and plastic surgery. This hospital has grown tremendously under their guidance and is now a multi-specialty institution with 650 beds, 38 operating theatres, >150,000 outpatients, and 26000 major surgeries, which is one of the largest in the whole of South Asia. Although the units introduced cutting-edge technology, they also evolved a ‘Low Cost, High Quality Healthcare model’ to bring the services free or highly subsidised to the poor. . Prof. S. Rajasekaran established the Ganga Spine Injury and Rehabilitation Center (GSIRC) for paralysed patients, where more than 1850 paralysed patients have been rehabilitated at a subsidised cost. Ganga Orthopaedic Research & Education Foundation’ (GOREF) was established in August 2002 under his guidance to facilitate and conduct research in all aspects of orthopaedic surgery, in both clinical and basic sciences.

Leadership in International Professional Bodies:

 * President, Asia Pacific Spine Society
 * Past Chair, AO Spine International, Zurich (2018-2021)


 * Past President of SICOT - International Society for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery (2016 – 2018)
 * Past Chair- AO Spine International Research Commission (2015-17)
 * Past President- Cervical Spine Research Society – Asia Pacific (2017-2018)
 * Past President of International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine, (ISSLS), Canada (2011-2012)
 * Past President of the World Orthopaedic Concern (WOC), UK (2005-2007)
 * Past President of the Indian Orthopaedic Association(IOA) (2011-2012)
 * Past President of the Association of Spine Surgeons of India for four years (2008 – 2012)
 * Chairman, Constitution Review Committee of Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association
 * President, Association of National Board Accredited Institutions (ANBAI)

Academic Distinctions:

 * Hunterian Professor by the Royal College of Surgeons of England for the year 2011-12
 * ‘Distinguished Visitor’ to Harvard Medical International, Boston, USA ,2007
 * ‘Grand Rounds Lecturer of Mayo Hospital, USA, 2010
 * Distinguished Visitor’ to Dartmouth University, USA ,2005
 * Adjunct Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tamilnadu Dr MGR Medical University
 * Past Member of Faculty of Medicine, Annamalai University
 * Past Member of the Planning Board, Bharathiar University
 * Current Member of Board of Studies, Bharathiar University

Literature Contributions:

 * Shanmuganathan Rajasekaran is one of the leading Researchers in the field of orthopedics and spine surgery and has an H-index of 49 with research citations counting 10,791, a research interest score of 6,258 as of 2024-02-19.
 * He was instrumental in the evolution of ‘Ganga Hospital Open Injury Severity Score(GHOISS)’ which guides critical decisions in saving and reconstructing severely injured limbs.

International Journal Positions:

 * Deputy Editor of The Bone & Joint Surgery, USA
 * Deputy Editor of SPINE, USA
 * Deputy Editor of Global Spine Journal, USA
 * Editor board member of Journal of Craniovertebral surgery & Spine
 * Advisory board member of European Spine Journal

PHILANTHROPY:
The mission statement of Ganga Hospital is "To provide quality treatment at an affordable cost so that the expertise will be available to every citizen of the country’. True to this aim, Shanmuganthan Rajasekeran has powered many philanthropic and corporate social responsibility projects, some of them being:

Project SWASAM literally meaning Breath of Life :

This project was inaugurated by Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on 3rd May 2018 and has many sub projects which have created a huge impact for the Society.

Project Helpline: Free corrective surgeries for limb deformities of whatever etiology for children from poor socio-economic status

Project ‘Straight Spine’: Children with progressive and severe deformities are prone for  cardio-respiratory problems, neurological deficit with paralysis and a disabled life. This project aims to provide safe correction of spinal deformities to poor children.

GSIRC: Ganga Spine Injury and Rehabilitation Center (GSIRC) was established for paralysed patients where more than 1850 paralysed patients have been rehabilitated at a subsidised cost.

UYIR: Dr Rajasekaran is the Managing Trustee and was instrumental in setting up a charitable trust called ‘UYIR’ (Meaning Life) which is a ‘People’s Movement for Road Safety’. The organisation conducts numerous programs in the city of Coimbatore to inculcate road safety awareness in the public of Coimbatore city. The project also has developed a unique ‘Kutty Cops’ program where nearly 4.25 lakh children were trained to act as ‘Little Policemen’ at home making sure that the adults at home do not speak on the mobile when driving, do not jump red lights, do not overspeed, wear a helmet and fasten seat belt. Due to the activities of UYIR, the accidents within the Coimbatore city has shown a downward trend.

One of the notable milestones in the field of Road safety was the Public Interest Litigation on the Union Government of India in the Supreme Court (Rajasekaran Vs Union Govt of India- Writ Petition (Civil) No.295 of 2012). This is the most significant intervention and order by the Supreme Court on road safety till date.

National Awards:

 * Sir JC Bose Lifetime Achievement Award 2023
 * Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research Award 2017, Medical Council of India
 * Dr B C Roy Silver Jubilee Research Award 2004, Medical Council of India
 * Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research Award for 2004, Medical Council of India
 * Tridecennial Award for Teachers for 2012, National Board of Examinations New Delhi
 * Scroll of Honor for 2012, The Tamilnadu Dr MGR Medical University

International Awards:

 * North American Spine Society Outstanding Research Award consecutively for three years - 2019, 2020 and 2021
 * ISSLS Best Paper Award for Basic Science, 2021
 * ISSLS Best Paper Award for Clinical Science, 2021
 * Asia Pacific Orthopaedic Association – Best Presentation Award- Infection Category– 2021
 * Asia Pacific Spine Society Best Clinical Research Award for 2019
 * Asia Pacific Spine Journal Award for Best Clinical Paper for 2019
 * Asia Pacific Spine Society Basic Science Research Award for 2019
 * Asia Pacific Spine Journal Award for Best Basic Science Paper for 2019
 * ISSLS Prize for Spine Research for the year 2017
 * Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award 2005
 * ISSLS Prize for Spine Research for the year 2013
 * ISSLS Prize for Spine Research for the year 2010
 * ISSLS Prize for Spine Research for the year 2004
 * ‘Euro Spine Open Paper Award’ for 2008 for his research demonstrating that disc nutrition in spine can be modified by calcium channel blockers.
 * Macnab LaRocca Research Award of ISSLS in 2005
 * Sofamer Danek Award for the best Scientific presentation internationally by the International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine thrice for the years 1996, 2002 & 2006
 * Harald Tscherene Teaching Award by the German Trauma Society in 2019