In an austere and quietly dignified ceremony maintaining all Covid protocols, the management of Dr. Bhubaneshwar Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to Dr. Narendra Nath Dutta, Chairman and Managing Director Down Town Hospitals and Chancellor Assam down town University for his outstanding contribution in the field of healthcare, and to Shankar Lall Goenka, a well-known film producer and distributor, philanthropist and Chairman Jeevan Ram Mungi Devi Charitable Trust, Guwahati for his contributions in the social sectors and holistic cancer care.
The awardees were felicitated with a silk shawl and flower bouquet. Dr. Amal Chandra Kataki, Director of BBCI while thanking the awardees for their contribution and leadership, presented Dr. N N Dutta and Shri Shankar Lall Goenka with a memento and citation. Speaking on the occasion Dr. Kataki said that the presentation of awards encourages people to take up more philanthropic work for the benefit of society. Dr. Kataki further appealed to like-minded organizations to collaborate with the institute in areas of cancer prevention and early detection.
In the same ceremony, the first Deepika Phukan Oncology Research Grant Award of BBCI, instituted by Mr. S.N. Phukan and Mrs. Deepika Phukan of Hatigarh Chariali, Guwahati to promote research in cancer was awarded to Mr. Kamal Shokeen, Research Scholar from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. Mr. Shokeen was awarded for his ongoing research project on recombinant Newcastle disease virus-based breast cancer therapy. The award carries a citation and a grant of Rupees Three lac, over a period of 3 years. The project was chosen by a team of prominent clinicians and researchers of repute from BBCI, Gauhati University, and Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology.
Dr. Kataki congratulated Mr. Shokeen and he expressed hope that such awards would bring forth more research in the field of oncology as well as many more grants, awards, and assistance for furthering research in Oncology.