Dr Beena Koshi named India UK Achiever
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Beena Koshi is one of 75 Indian nationals who have studied at a UK university to be recognised in the India UK Achievers Honours, hosted by the British Council and NISAU UK (National Indian Students & Alumni Union UK).
She has been named as an Achiever in the ‘Education, Science and Innovation’ category, which celebrates researchers and educators whose ground-breaking work pushes the boundaries of human knowledge and technology and advances excellence in - and access to – education.
Beena is a developmental paediatrician, with a passion to set standards for clinical service and research in childhood development and disability in India. Her research interests include early childhood experiences and cognition, and autism spectrum disorder. She has extensively published and has been awarded the Fellowship of Indian Academy of Paediatrics and the India Alliance ICPH Fellowship.
Ahead of the awards ceremony in London on 25 January 2023, we caught up with Beena to congratulate her and reminisce on her student days at Newcastle University.
Hi Beena. Congratulations on being named an India UK Achiever! Can you tell our readers a bit about your time at Newcastle University?
Thank you! I studied at the Institute of Neuroscience for a very busy two years, between 2012-14, researching autism spectrum disorder alongside my clinical work in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Before starting my course, I was already living and working in Newcastle as a speciality doctor. The city centre was so vibrant and its people so friendly, and I loved being so close to the North Sea – so remaining in Newcastle to study was a no-brainer.
On campus, I loved the leafy, quiet outdoor space and the library. I also really valued the support systems that were in place to help a researcher like me, including networking and integrated learning opportunities. I remember one day attending a session with a campus psychologist who was running through the Myers-Briggs Personality Test with some of us – the analysis showed that my personality type was perfectly suited for an intuitive researcher!
Thank you, Newcastle University, for strengthening my foundations in clinical research so that I could build on them to help my community back home in India.
It seems your personality type is also perfectly suited to achieving great things! Can you tell us what you went on to do after graduating from Newcastle University?
I was actually on a 3-year sabbatical from Christian Medical College Vellore (CMC) when I was studying and working in Newcastle, so I returned to India to continue my work there once I had graduated.
CMC is a large tertiary referral centre and teaching hospital with over 3000 inpatient beds and around 8000 outpatients a day visiting us from within the country and the nearby South Asian countries. The institute has been serving the community since 1900.
I am based in the Developmental Paediatrics Unit at CMC, the first such department attached to an academic institute in India. We support around 20,000 children a year from India and overseas. Following my MD, I specialise in supporting children with neurodevelopmental needs in my clinical work and I have also continued my research into child development and autism spectrum disorder.
Along with other relevant departments, we have worked among urban and rural poor to conduct regular child health and development screening and intervention camps, including home-based screening. We also support NGOs and medical rural-based hospitals spread across India and work with policy makers and government agencies to support child development and disability work.
And alongside my clinical work, I teach medical, nursing, and paramedical graduate and post-graduate students on child development. I have also taken a lead to conduct annual autism training workshops and continuing medical education programs for general practitioners, paediatricians, teachers, and families.
Wow! Sounds like you have been very busy since graduating. Can you tell us a bit more about your research?
Sure. During my time at CMC, I have conducted collaborative multi-national studies as well as independent competitive grant-driven research in childhood development and disability.
My research in disability and autism includes analysis of causative pathways, intervention, and costing analysis. My degree from Newcastle University has helped me to explore co-existing conditions in children with autism and, with the support of an Indian Council of Medical Research grant, their neuro-radiological correlations.
I currently hold the India-Alliance DBT-Wellcome Trust Intermediate Clinical and Public Health Fellowship and overall, I have more than 60 publications and 1000 citations. At CMC, we do collaborative work with other national, and international institutions (Gates Foundation, Universities of Melbourne (Australia) and Virginia (USA), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK).
In February 2023 I am planning to anchor an initiative through the First Vellore Child Development Meeting where national and international experts can come together, deliberate on research gaps in child development research in India and charter the way forward.
How did your time at Newcastle University shape your passion for this work?
I was fortunate to work with a set of passionate mentors and a wonderful team during my time at Newcastle. My mentors included Prof. Alan Colver, Prof. Ann Le Couteur, Prof. Helen McConachie, Prof. Jeremy Parr, Prof. Rob Forsyth, and Prof. Jacqui Rodgers. Academic discussions with them were enriching and I thank them.
My Newcastle training helped me to understand the importance of parent/stakeholder involvement in research, collaborative consultations, large databases’ management, meticulous scientific planning, and presentations. Thank you, Newcastle University for strengthening my foundations in clinical research so that I could build on them to help my community back home in India.
What made you apply for the Achievers Awards, and what does it mean to you to be honoured?
To be honest, it was thanks to an email from Newcastle University that I heard of the awards programme initially (thank you Laney!).
My professional days and calendar are jam-packed with a combination of clinical, research, advocacy, teaching, and administrative responsibilities, but an ankle sprain forced me to take a short break and rest last year. Along with catching up on pending research articles and write-ups during that time, it gave me the opportunity to apply for this honours award. I thank God for His providence and grace and acknowledge the enormous support my institution has provided me.
More than an individual recognition, this award is a validation for the clinical, research, teaching and community work of my institution, Christian Medical College Vellore, which has been serving India since 1900. I am fortunate to be placed here and acknowledge the contribution of my institution, my department, and the fantastic team I work with. I also must highlight the role Newcastle University has played in inculcating lofty research practices including ethics.
What’s next for you and CMC Vellore?
CMC Vellore is in the process of establishing a Child Health Institute in collaboration with international partners. We’re looking forward to developing a stand-alone Paediatric Neuro-Developmental-Rehabilitation Institute that can set standards for India.
This February, we plan to conduct the First Vellore Child Development Meeting, where international and Indian experts will evaluate current evidence and plan the way forward to address gaps in child development research in India.
We have also started work with the government at different levels to support nutrition and development initiatives for children in the state.
And in the community, we will continue to support parent initiatives of autism care and Down Syndrome care along with our regular community clinics.