IAPEN India - Criticl Care Core Group
AIM: To improve the quality of critical care nutrition in hospitals by creating simple, practical, and evidence-based resources, and by helping healthcare professionals feel more confident in their daily practice.
VISION: To become a trusted national group in critical care nutrition that helps improve patient outcomes and supports healthcare teams in delivering better care across all hospitals.
MISSION:
- To develop and update clear, practical consensus guidelines for critical care nutrition.
- To create useful books, manuals, and digital content that are easy to understand and apply.
- To plan and support research studies that improve real-world clinical practice.
- To conduct training programs, workshops, and teaching sessions for doctors, dietitians, nurses, and other healthcare staff.
- To design bedside-friendly tools and content that help in day-to-day decision-making.
- To help hospitals implement standard nutrition practices in ICUs.
- To encourage a culture of learning, teamwork, and evidence-based care in critical care settings.
CORE OBJECTIVE: To ensure every healthcare professional involved in critical care feels confident and capable of managing nutrition in ICU patients.
Core Group Members :
Mentor
Dr. Harish Ambekar
MBBS, MD, EDIC(Zurich), European Fellowship in Intensive Care Medicine
Dr. Harish Ambekar is a Lead Consultant in Critical care medicine with extensive international training and over two decades of experience in advanced critical care. He has completed specialist training with the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM), Sydney, and holds the European Diploma in Intensive Care Medicine (EDIC) from Zurich.
He has held academic and clinical appointments at leading university hospitals in Australia and also contributing to clinical research trials and postgraduate education.
His academic interests include Nutrition in Critical Care, with multiple publications and ongoing quality control projects in this domain.
Dr. Ambekar has led initiatives in hospital infection control, antimicrobial stewardship, and quality improvement projects in ICU practice.
He is a Life member and past President of IAPEN India (Bangalore chapter) and ISCCM, and a member of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), Australia & New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) and SAPEN.
Mentor
Dr. ANUSHA CHERIAN
MBBS, MD, DNB, EDIC
Designation: Professor
Affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, JIPMER, PONDICHERRY.
Experience:She has 16 years of experience. She is a President of Puducherry chapter of IAPEN.
She is a course coordinator for DM in Critical Care, JIPMER.
She has done short term fellowship in Critical care from Australia.
She has completed European Diploma in Critical care (EDIC)
She is a instructor for ATLS, BLS, ACLS (AHA) and FCCS (SCCM) courses.
She is also a member of Technical and Curriculum Committee for Simulation, Kerala University of Health Sciences.
She was awarded with Travel fellowship from ESICM on Nutrition in critical illness to University hospital, Berlin in October 2023.
Publications: 35 articles in peer reviewed journals
Participated as speaker and organised over 40 conferences, CMEs and workshops at state and national levels.
Reviewer: 8 journals
Completed research work: 20.
Chapter in textbooks: 3
Chief Program Officer - Dr. Swarnadeepak
MD( Internal medicine), MRCP(UK), EDIC(Denmark), IDCCM, IFCCM
Designation: Professor/ Sr. consultant Internal medicine & Critical care medicine.
Affiliation: Apollo health city, Hyderabad., ISCCM Hyderabad, IAPEN
Experience: Chairperson, ISCCM Hyderabad
Past-Secretary, ISCCM Hyderabad.
Achievements:
My students are my achievements.
Scientific co-chairperson of CRITIC 2021, CRITIC 2022.
Organising Secretary, Neuro critical care update- 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Organising committee member, World ARDS day, 2024.
Organising Secretary, South Zone Critical Care Conference 2023.
Organising Secretary, CRITIC 2024,
Organising Team member, ISCCM Outreach programme 2024, Goa,
Core member, Knowledge Repository committee, ISCCM.
Co- Organising Chairperson- W4C/ CRITIC- 2026.
Area of Interest: Undiagnosed/ Challenging cases, Hematologic critical care, Rheumatologic critical care, Endocrine critical care, Critical care nutrition.
His areas of clinical focus encompass various aspects of internal medicine, including chronic disease management, preventive care, and critical care, making him a versatile physician capable of addressing diverse health concerns.
Membership:
Honorary Fellow, GAPIO (Global Association of Physicians of India)
Executive committee member, IAPEN Hyderabad.
Member, ISCCM Research committee.
Chief Program Officer - Dr. Sandhya Singh. S
PhD (Nutrition, Mysore University)
Affiliation:
HOD & Chief Clinical Dietitian, Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, Apollo Hospitals, Bangalore.
Convenor, Indian Dietetic Association, Bangalore Chapter.
Experience: She is a Clinical Dietitian with 23 years of experience in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics.
Qualifications:
She has completed the ‘LOW FODMAP DIET’ Course from Monash University, Australia
She is ESPEN-LLL Certified in Live and Online Clinical Nutrition Courses.
Publications:
She the reviewer of the journal of Nutrition and Food Science.
Her work includes authoring chapters, in -
‘The Apollo handbook series’,
‘Indian Food Anthropology And The Eat Right Movement Book, ‘Regional food habits’, in 2021,
Diabetes Mellitus, Functional foods and Nutraceuticals, A handbook, on ‘Menopause and Diabetes’ in 2022.
NCP book of IAPEN, on ‘Critical Care NCP guidelines’ a compilation from SCCM, AND & ESPEN, published in 2024.
What’s on my plate? In the ‘Transplant Book’ ‘New Life. New Beginnings’ as a ready reckoner for Post-transplant patients to manage their nutritional queries, published in July 2025
‘Nutrition Management of End stage Lung Disease and Lung transplant’, initiated in IAPEN 2025.
Awards:
She has been conferred with Joseph Lister award for her review article published in 2015. Impact of glycemic control on the pregnancy outcome in Gestational Diabetics. Journal of Diabetes and Health. Photon 108, 288-300
She won Excellence award in Medical Nutrition Practice- Quality Award, State Level from IAPEN in 2023.
She has won awards for her papers in the National conferences of IDA, and has published papers in Nutrition journals.
She has presence in the print media.
Joint Program Officer - Prachi Chandra
RD, MSc. Nutrition, PGDFSQM
Affiliation: HOD & Lead Clinical Nutritionist at Sakra World Hospital, Bangalore
Experience:
Registered dietitian with 14 years of Clinical experience in multispecialty hospitals and corporates.
Teaching experience of 5 years for Nursing students - Basic Nutrition, food & drug interaction.
Qualifications:
Certified for Low FODMAP Diet for IBS by Monash University, Australia.
Sports Nutrition Course from NTPEL, Swayam.
PG Diploma in Food Safety & Quality Management.
ESPEN LLL courses credits in 15 clinical topics such as Parental & Enteral nutrition, Nutrition support in perioperative care, oncology, obesity, diabetes, , pulmonary diseases, , metabolic syndrome, renal disease, GI diseases etc.
Certificate Course in Advanced Ayurveda Dietetics from TDU, Bangalore.
B.Sc. Home science with Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics , M.Sc. Nutrition from Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow.
Certificate Course in Nutrition & Child Care from IGNOU.
Internal quality auditor at Sakra world Hospital.
Invited as Faculty/panel member at workshops & Conferences.
Award: Kamla Jha Memorial Scholarship for the Best Student of Home Science, Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow.
Publications: Microbiological quality and Organochlorine pesticide residue in commercially available ready to eat raisins. Bull Envirn Contam Toxicol (2008) 81:387-392.
She has presence in the print media.
Done various internal, multi-centric observational studies in hospital. Presented abstracts at various conferences.
Memberships: Life member of IDA, CCF, ISPEN, IAPEN, NSI, ESPEN.
Executive Member - Dr Rayees A K
MBBS, DNB (Internal Medicine), IDCCM, FRCP, EDIC
Affiliation: Consultant and Chief, Department of Critical Care Baby Memorial Hospital, Kannur, Kerala.
Professional Background:
Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine (IDCCM) - Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode
He is certified ECMO Specialist - ESOI India.
He is also a Patient Safety Officer & Chairman in Hospital Infection Control Committee.
Areas of Expertise:
Sepsis and Multiorgan Failure
ARDS
Mechanical Ventilation
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Critical Care Nutrition
ECMO, CRRT & Advanced toxicology
Recognition:
Listed among Best Doctors of South India - Outlook Magazine (2024 & 2025)
Listed among Eminent Doctors South India - India Today Magazine (2024 & 2025)
Award for Excellence in Nutrition Practice - IAPEN, ICNC 2025
Executive Member - Dr. Parth S. Patel (PSP)
MBBS. MD (Gold Medalist), FNB Critical Care Medicine (Bombay)
Affiliation: Consultant Critical Care Medicine Specialist at Civil Hospital, BJMC and Sterling Hospitals, Ahmedabad.
Professional Background:
Certified in Infectious Disease Control (Royal College, UK), Certified Antimicrobial Steward (Stanford, USA), Diploma in Geriatric Medicine (India), CCLS,BCLS,COLS,CPR Instructor, IRCF. AIFF licensed Football coach.
He is enthusiastic about critical patient care and having been trained in Advanced airway management, extracorporeal organ support, advanced hemodynamics, and full body ultrasonography including Transcranial Doppler, Echocardiography, Lung Ultrasonography, and other modalities. With multiple international and national journal publications to his name, he is also a frequent speaker at conferences and a very enthusiastic academic.
Publications:
Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases 2024-11-06 | Review
International Journal of Advances in Nephrology Research 2024-02-16 | Review
Role of on Admission Serum Chloride Level in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: A Prospective Single Centre Cohort Study. European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine. 2023-03-18 | Journal article
Colchicine for pericarditis due to COVID-19: a case report. International Journal of Advances in Medicine. 2022-03-24 | Journal article. DOI: 10.18203/2349-3933.ijam20220793.
Early Experience of High-dose Intravenous Mycobacterium w in Critically Ill Patients of COVID-19. Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine. 2021-09-08 | Journal article. DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23963.
A case of Henoch‐Schonlein purpura presenting with pulmonary involvement. International Journal of Advances in Medicine. 2021-02-23 | Journal article. DOI: 10.18203/2349-3933.ijam20210609.
Case Report: Broken Epidural Catheter; A rare complication. Indian Journal of Applied Research2019 | Journal article.
A comparison of intrathecal dexmedetomidine and clonidine as adjuvants to hyperbaric bupivacaine for gynaecological surgery. International Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology 2015 | Journal article. DOI: 10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20151350.
Posterior FOSSA surgery in the lateral position in a pregnant patient with cerebellopontine angle tumour: Anaesthetic Management. Indian Journal of Applied research. Journal article. DOI: 10.36106/ijar
Executive Member - Dr. Abhijit S. Nair
MD, PGCC (Pain), IDRA, Fellow NIV, CCEPC, Diploma In Clinical Research (DCR)
Affiliation: Consultant Anesthesiologist, Department of Anesthesiology, Ibra Hospital, Sultanate of Oman.
His areas of interest are acute pain, regional anesthesia, perioperative care, Onco-anesthesia, Medical writing.
Recognized among the top 2% scientists worldwide for 2025 (list developed by Stanford University and Elsevier)
Publications: More than 240 PubMed-indexed publications (19 systematic reviews/meta-analyses)
Over 15 chapters in several textbooks of Anesthesia.
Associate Editor: n Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology
Approval Editor: Cureus Journal of Medical Sciences
Member Editorial Board: Journal of Anesthesia, Analgesia, and Critical Care and BMC Anesthesiology, Frontiers Journals
Executive Member - Dr. Pavan Kumar
MBBS, DA, IDCCM, IFCCM
Affiliation: Currently working as senior Consultant and Head of Department of Critical Care in Apollo Hospitals, Financial District, Hyderabad.
Qualification:
MD from Tata Memorial Hospital followed by Fellowship in Critical Care from the same hospital.
He did advanced training in Critical Care in UK including fellowships in Neurocritical Care from Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge University.
ECMO Fellowship from St Thomas’ Hospital London.
Area of Interest (s): Severe respiratory Failure, post liver transplant management, nutrition in critically ill patients and Extracorporeal life support.
Executive Member - Dr. Kushal Kalvit
MD, DM, EDIC, EDEC, PGDMT
Affiliation:
He is a physician-intensivist and is currently working as a Senior Consultant in the department of Critical Care at Sir HN Reliance hospital in Mumbai, India.
He completed his internal medicine residency followed by training in critical care medicine at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India.
He went on to pursue a fellowship in critical care at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital at London
Publications:
He has authored/co-authored more than 45 chapters in various textbooks of critical care and has numerous national and international publications to his credit.
He has 14 publications to his credit in various national & international journals.
He has served as the editor of the first edition of Recent Advances in Critical Care book and the Indian Society of Toxicology’s Poisoning Protocols Handbook.
He is also a reviewer for the British Medical Journal and the Annals of Internal Medicine journal.
Executive Member - Josepin .K
MSc. Food & Nutrition
Affiliation: Senior Dietitian in KMCH Hospital, Coimbatore
Experience: 16 years of experience in providing evidence- based Nutrition care.
Expertise:
Medical Nutrition Therapy for Weight Management, Diabetes Management, Healthy Eating Habits.
Passionate about promoting sustainable healthy eating habits through Personalized Nutrition Counseling, Meal Planning, Health Education.
Guided many Under Graduate & Post Graduate Candidates.
Conducted Medical Camps and Community Nutrition Camps, counselling sessions as part of IDA activities and departmental activities.
Resource person and Invited speaker for Health and Disease for seminars, workshops, Nutrition Education for Students.
Does follow-ups to improve long-term health.
Memberships: Life time Member of Indian Dietetic Association, IAPEN INDIA- Coimbatore Chapter
Executive Member(Research coordinator) - Rachana Mahesh Kalpekar
MSc (DFSM), B. Food Technology & Management, CDE-IDF
Affiliation: Senior Fellow of the International Diabetes Federation (2024–2026) Consultant Clinical Dietician& Research Officer At CentraCare Super Specialty Hospital & MRC, India. Ministry of Health UAE — Certified Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics Nutritionist (Evaluation valid through 2027).
Experience: With over 20 years of professional experience. She had the privilege of working extensively in both India and the United Arab Emirates.
Her career includes over a decade in the UAE as Acting Lead Clinical Dietician at Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital (SKGH), where she spearheaded initiatives such as patient-centered and evidence-based nutritional assessment and care plan procedures and policies, ICU nutrition protocols, EN & TPN protocols (across neonatal, pediatric, and adult populations), ERAS protocols, the initiation of a specialized gestational diabetes education and management clinic, and policy development aligned with JCI standards.
Other Qualifications:
SCOPE Certified Professional. Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) course · Enteral Nutrition Prescription During Critical Illness Crash Course · Nutrition-Focused Physical Examination (NFPE) Training (Adult & Pediatric) · Diploma in Nutrition & Health Education (DNHE) · Trained Podiatrist for Diabetic Foot Care & Management (IDF, JIVAS Bangalore – Project Padmashanrakshne)
Publications:
An active contributor to academic and professional forums, she had presented at various national and international symposiums.
Published peer-reviewed articles and contributed chapters to the RSSDI Textbook of Diabetes.
Membership: Lifetime membership of IDA, IAPEN, RSSDI