GMC Kota medical student gets researcher of the year award 2026 by American College of Physicians

KOTA: Dr Komal Verma Saluja, a final-year student at Government Medical College Kota (GMCK), has been conferred the "Researcher of the Year Award 2026" by the India chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP).

Saluja was presented the award in Indore on Saturday evening by Dr Noel N Diep, ACP Global Ambassador and member of its Board of Regents in the US, along with Dr Mukta Panda, Dean of Medicine in Tennessee.

She is the youngest recipient and the first medical student to receive the accolade from the ACP, a medical specialty organisation representing more than 163,000 physicians across 172 countries.

Saluja's research portfolio includes two studies addressing global health issues. One study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, identified an imaging biomarker using FreeSurfer-based cortical thickness measurements from brain MRIs to detect early cognitive decline in patients with type 2 diabetes.

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Student's other research

In another study, she developed a diagnostic method using routine echocardiography as an opportunistic screening tool for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), commonly known as fatty liver disease. For her work on liver disease screening, she was selected for an oral abstract presentation and received a USD 2,000 international travel grant from the American College of Gastroenterology to attend its upcoming annual scientific meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.

Expressing gratitude, Saluja dedicated the award to the faculty of GMCK for their mentorship and said the recognition would serve as a catalyst for her future research pursuits.

She also called for greater investment and focus on novel diagnostic and therapeutic research in India, saying medical research in the country remains largely focused on defining problems rather than developing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Dr Nilesh Jain, Principal of GMCK, congratulated Saluja, saying her achievement brought pride to the institution and would motivate other students to take up research activities. Saluja secured the 67th rank in NEET-UG 2020 and remained a university topper throughout her MBBS professional examinations.

RUHS topper

She also secured the highest marks in the Rajasthan University of Health Sciences MBBS professional examination in 2023, according to the college.

She is the first medical student from Rajasthan selected for the Khorana Program of Scholars, a research scholarship by the Department of Biotechnology under the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma had earlier felicitated her with a Certificate of Appreciation at an 'At Home' ceremony at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur.