News & Updates

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THE 11TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF ARTHROPODOLOGY OF SOCIETY OF MEDICAL ARTHROPODOOGY ORGANIZED IN DEHRADUN ON 26-27 OCTOBER, 2018: A REPORT ON THE MINUTES OF SOMA’s 2nd GENERAL BODYMEETING

The 2ndGeneral Body Meeting of the SOCIETY OF MEDICAL ARTHROPODOLOGY (SOMA) was held on 26th October, 2018, at 2.30 pm, and the following SOMA executive members and other arthropodologists attended:

1. Dr B.K. Tyagi (SOMA President)
2. Dr B. Reddya Naik (SOMA Secretary General)
3. Dr Vijay Veer (SOMA President Elect-I)
4. Dr Jagbir Singh (SOMA President Elect-II)
5. Dr Sajal Bhattacharya (Founding Member)
6. Dr Kailash Chandra
7. Dr R.S. Sharma
8. Dr P.K. Srivastava
9. Dr Neera Kapoor
10. Dr D.S. Suman
11. Dr KarimbhaiMeredia
12. Dr Rina Tilak (SOMA Founding Member)
13. Dr Arti Prasad
14. Dr Mbabazi Ruth
15. Dr R.K. Jauhari
16. Dr M.R.Bhagyasree
17. MrSiddaiahSwamy
18. Dr Shashi Kiran Solanki
19. Dr N. Pemola Devi
20. MrsAjita Tyagi
21. Dr J.V.S. Rauthan
22. Dr. Sunil Kumar
23. Dr. Sundar Singh
24. Dr. Sujata Gupta
25. Dr. P.K. Sharma
26. Dr. M.M. Juwantha
27. Dr. N. Pemola Devi
28. Dr. Poonam P. Semwal
29. Dr. M.K. Purohit
30. Dr. Manisha Uniyal
31. Dr. Beena Joshi Bhatt
32. Dr. Suneel Kumar Singh
33. Dr. Geeta Rauthan
34. Dr. Mohd. Faizal
35. Ms. Shweta Singh
36. Dr. Ritwik Mondal
37. Mr. Mukesh Lal
38. MsShepaliChalotra
39. Mr. Naved Chaudhury
40. Ms. Rifat Ara
41. Ms. Versha Shukla
42. Mr. Gulzar A. Bhatt

app. 20 Research Scholars and MSc students from Zoology Deptt., DAV (PG) College etc.

Dr Tyagi initiated the Meeting by thanking the Organizers, particularly Prof. R.K. Jauhari, Convener, and Dr Shashi Kiran Solanki, Org. Secretary, and their entire team of young and inexhaustible colleagues, scholars and students, for their unparalleled kindness, generosity, camaraderie, support and guidance showered on the participants throughout their sojourn (Fig. 1). He was ecstatic about how the 11thNCMA had nurtured many memorable moments which will remain ingrained in their mind for a long time to come. He reminded that the conference had put forward many novel subjects for discussion and the interest shown by participants (>100), especially students and young researchers, was unparalleled in the annals of SOMA conferences. Highlights of the conference included:

(i) Commencing its 1st Conference of Medical Arthropodology in 2007, the SOMA, being the first ever indigenous confrerie of medical arthropodologists worldwide, has in the face of the organization of 11thSOMA Conference in the epicenter of entomological research, the Dehra Dun city, has most successfully advanced to live for more than a decade (cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropodology). All participants gave full support for its novel, innovative and timely approach.

(ii) A total of 92 Abstracts were received and printed in an exquisite Abstracts Booklet (100 pp.),

(iii) Quite many participating researchers hailed from as many as ten States/UTs, such as Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Orissa, Haryana, Uttara Khand, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana. Two scientists(Prof. KarimbhaiMeredia and Dr M. Ruth) from United States of America also joined and presented an invited a Plenary Lecture.

(iv) First time in the history of science of medical arthropodology three prominent Awards were given away continuously for the second year, together with a Young Scientist Award initiated for the first time during this conference, with a Citation and a Medal, namely,

• SOMA Lifetime Achievement Award (Dr Rina Tilak)
• Prof. Dr T.N. Ananthakrishnan (Dr D.S. Suman)
• Prof. Dr V.P. Sharma (Dr Shashi Solanki and Dr N. Pemola Devi)
• SOMA Young Scientist Award (Dr Varun Tyagi, DrSambashivaDaravath, Dr RamarMarimuthu and Dr Siddaiah Swamy)

(v) After having been formally registered as SOCIETY OF MEDICAL ARTHROPODOLOGY (S.O.M.A.) on 1st March, 2017, it has now commissioned uninterruptedly its second Executive Council - General Body Meeting here during the 11thNCMA (2018) which is in order.

(vi) A total of 33 lectures, including 9 Keynote lectures, were delivered attracting huge interest from audience, particularly younger generation.

(vii) Release of Dr S.K. Kulshrestha's(Dr Vijay Veer, Dr R.K. Jauhari&B.K. Tyagi) and Dr R.K. Jauhari’s bio-bibliographies(Dr B.K. Tyagi & Dr Vijay Veer), made a novel and unique feature of the SOMA conference.

(viii) Release of an elegant Abstracts Booklet/Conference Brochure, with the DAVCollege’s historical building symbolically exhibited on the title page, was a milestone in the long journey of the 11thNCMA.

(ix) Dr Kailash Chandra, Director, ZSI, Kolkata accepted SOMA’s invitation to organize the 12th National Conference of Medical Arthropodology in Kolkata during late 2019. On this occasion he was served with the SOMA Insignia-Flag by Dr. Tyagi and Dr Reddya Naik as a mark of shift of the site for the next conference. All participants cheered for this grand development.

Dr Tyagi finally summarized the activities of the SOMA whereupon the SOMA Executive Council/odonatologists approved the following recommendations:

1. The SOMA Constitution and By-Laws, with Minutes of the 11th NCMA, were duly approved.
2. The current Membership Fees Plan was re-visited and approved.
3. The four SOMA Awards, i.e. (i) SOMA Lifetime Achievement Award, (ii) Prof. Dr T.N. Ananthakrishnan, (iii) Prof. Dr V.P. Sharma, and (iv) SOMA Young Scientist Award were duly approved for future conferences.
4. Plans for open access annual e-periodicals, JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ARTHROPODOLOGY (to commence July 1, 2019), and semiannual, SOMA Newsletter(to commence March 1, 2019), were approved with Editorial Boards provisionally constituted as follows (written consent will be obtained from individual member in due course):