Honorary Advisory Board

Dr. A S Kanagasabapathy

 Served the Christian Medical College Vellore for 34 years (1966 – 2000) as professor and head of the Department of Clinical Biochemistry.
 Has been deeply involved in promoting the quality of laboratory services and also in teaching and research.
 Started a national-level external quality assurance program 42 years ago with 50 laboratories, which today has more than 10,000 participating laboratories.
 As part of his “outreach program,” he has personally visited hundreds of laboratories throughout the length and breadth of India and conducted over 200 QC seminars. His goal has been to create an impact at the grassroots level, covering all strata, both urban and more importantly semi-urban labs, which cater to the rural population.
 Has been associated with the WHO in various laboratory QC activities and has authored /coauthored three WHO documents. He has (a) participated as WHO Consultant in the Lab Quality Assurance program held In Myanmar in 1997 for labs in South East Asian region and (b) represented India in the WHO program on accreditation of health labs in the countries of the SEA Region in Bangkok in 2003.
 Founder member of ACBI and was its President in 2000-2001.
 Fellow of the Association of Clinical Biochemists of India as well as the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry of the US.
 In 1997, he was the chairman of the Technical Committee constituted by the NABL for formulating specific guidelines for accreditation of medical laboratories and has contributed significantly towards the preparation of the NABL document #112 of 2005.
 Served as a member of Scientific Advisory committees and Taskforces of the ICMR over the years.
 Has been a member of ICMR’s Dept. of Health Research (DHR) Expert Group on “Human Resource Development” of Medical Colleges and Health Research Institutions.
 In 2008 he was a Member of Advisory committee and Drafting Committee for ICMR’s first preparation of the document on “Guidelines for Good Clinical Laboratory Practice”.
 Has contributed as Chairman Drafting and Advisory Committee of ICMR for the preparation of the 2 nd edition of “ICMR Guidelines for GCLP 2021”.
 Was a member of the Clinical Chemistry Advisory Board of “Clinical Chemistry”, the official journal of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry.
 Enthusiastically continues to contribute towards the development of clinical laboratories nationwide.

Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Rana

• CEO, Quality & Accreditation Institute Pvt. Ltd. (QAI)
• Founding Member, Scientific Advisory Board, International Alliance of Patients’
Organizations, London, UK
• Founding Member, International Academy for Quality and Safety (IAQS)
• Consultant to the World Bank on Healthcare Accreditation (Reviewing & Developing healthcare accreditation standards, establishing accreditation agency and ISQua accreditation)
• International consultant for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on healthcare quality standard & assurance
• International consultant in Patient Safety for the World Health Organization (WHO)
• Empanelled in WHO SEARO Roster of Experts on Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety
• Expert of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua)
• ISQua External Evaluation Association Team Leader/ Surveyor for International Accreditation Program
• International consultant for the USAID, GIZ on hospital & healthcare quality and accreditation.
• UNFCCC Expert: Conducting Assessments of accreditation bodies for their accreditation under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change.
• Chairman-Documentation Review Committee of National GLP Compliance Monitoring Authority, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.
• Member-Complaints and Appeals Committee of National GLP Compliance Monitoring Authority, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.
• Chief Advisor to the Academy of Medical Laboratory Auditors (AMLA) and Foundation for Quality India (FQI).
• Advisor, National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India (NRCLPI).
• Senior Advisor, Indian Society for Lead Awareness & Research (InSLAR)
• Member, Academic Advisory Board, CT University Punjab

Dr. Gustavo Zubieta

High Altitude Medicine expertise and Head of the High Altitude Pulmonary & Pathology Institute IPPA (50th Anniversary, this year) in La Paz, Bolivia.
MD at UNIVERSIDAD MAYOR DE SAN ANDRES La Paz, Bolivia. In charge of Pulmonary Function, bioengineering, and computer programming at IPPA.
Visiting professor at the UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN.
Visiting Professor at the BLDE UNIVERSITY in Vijayapur, India. Member of the INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO TRAVELERS, IAMAT.
Fellow of the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute. Editor at High Altitude Medicine and Biology, invited editor of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, Acta Physiologica, Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, BLDE Univ J. and invited reviewer of multiple other journals.
Physician of diplomatic corps in Bolivia. Member of the Children at high altitude: an international consensus statement by an ad hoc committee of the International Society for Mountain Medicine.
Member of the International Consensus Statement on Chronic and Subacute High Altitude Diseases.
Founder of the Zubieta University, Poul-Erik Paulev High Altitude Diving Laboratory.
Creator of the Science, Honor, and Truth Awards. He organized with the late Prof.  Dr. Gustavo Zubieta-Castillo (Sr) the “Mountain Guru” and the American Embassy in 1994 the First World Congress on High Altitude Medicine and Physiology in La Paz, Bolivia. He also organized all the 7 Chronic Hypoxia Symposiums in La Paz. the latest 2 with the collaboration of Natalia Zubieta, M.D. spanning from 2005 to 2019. The 4th was organized jointly with the India Defense Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences along with the Global Hypoxia Summit in Dehli. Development and construction of a computerized Hyperoxic/Hypoxic Adaptation Chamber, and the Chacaltaya High Altitude Pyramid laboratory located at 5300 m. Developer of the Modified Van Slyke Acid-Base balance high altitude equations. Co-author of the high altitude diving tables with Poul-Erik Paulev and the High Altitude Adaptation formula with Gustavo Sr.
He developed the Tolerance to Hypoxia formula and the concept of Space travel in a Chronic Hypoxia Environment creating the term “BioSpaceforming” recently exposed at the Space Physiology Symposium in the Pan-American Physiology Congress in Varadero, Cuba 2019. He has been invited to give conferences on Chronic Hypoxia throughout India on 5 different occasions and likewise gave scientific tours in the US at the NIH, Tulane Medical School, Center for Space and Planetary  Sciences at the University of Arkansas, and for the Geriatrics Society in Pennsylvania. In 2019 he also gave conferences in Italy at EURAC in Bolzano and at the Univ of Milan. He collaborated with Gustavo Sr. on the concepts of Chronic Mountain Sickness now evolving in their deep understanding and interpretation.