I recently had the opportunity to attend the 3rd International Conference on Radiation Research: Human Health and Environment (ICRR-HHE 2024) from November 22-24, 2024, at AIIMS Patna, along with the 4th Biennial Meeting of the Society for Radiation Research on November 23, 2024. This was a special experience for me, as I had missed the 3rd Biennial Meeting of SRR and the 5th Asian Congress of Radiation Research in 2022 at BARC Mumbai. So, I was really looking forward to this one!
Sharing My Research
I was honored to deliver an invited talk on our research on individual sensitivity to radiation and susceptibility to second cancer. It was a great opportunity to share our findings with experts in the field, including scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals. The discussions and feedback were insightful, making it a valuable learning experience. My mentor from Stockholm University, Prof. Andrzej Wojcik, couldn’t attend in person, but he delivered an insightful online talk on individual radiosensitivity to the audience.
Meeting Old Mentors and Friends
One of the most special parts of this conference was reuniting with my Ph.D. supervisor, Prof. K.P. Mishra, after many years. I also met my first PostDoc mentor, Prof. George Iliakis from the University Hospital Essen, Germany, which brought back so many memories of my early research career.
Another unforgettable moment was meeting Padma Shri awardee Dr. J.K. Singh, a highly respected figure in cancer treatment in India. I also had the chance to interact with prominent scientists from Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, including Dr. B.N. Pandey, Dr. Amit Kumar, Dr. Chandan Kumar and several other colleagues from BARC.
I enjoyed engaging discussions with renowned radiation oncologists like Dr. Nagraj G. Huilgol (Nanavati Max Institute of Cancer Care), Dr. Shyam Shrivastava (HCG ICS Khubchandani Cancer Centre), and Dr. Sudheer Chandana (Director, INMAS, DRDO). Meeting Prof. Abhinas Pandey from IUAC, Delhi, was a pleasure and quite motivating.
It was particularly nostalgic to reconnect with Dr. Aashish Soni from University Hospital Essen after three years. We reminisced about our time working together in Germany, which made for a heartwarming conversation. I also caught up with Dr. Soji Sebastein from Canada, whom I last met at an ICRR meeting in Canada.
An Unforgettable Conference Experience
The conference was packed with scientific discussions, networking, and learning. I was so engaged that I barely had time to sleep! Every session and interaction added to the experience, making it truly worthwhile. I missed my 7 AM Vande Bharat train from Patna to Ranchi! I woke up at 6:30 AM to a memorable phone call, rushed to pack, checkout from the hotel Royal Bihar, left few things behind in the hotel, and even used a tuk-tuk (Tempo) and coolie service at the station—but I was four minutes late, and the train was gone! This also meant missing my connecting train to Balangir, making my journey home quite complicated. (That’s a long story for another time!)
With this funny memorable travel chaos at the end 🤩, ICRR-HHE 2024 at Patna was a fantastic experience. Meeting old colleagues, making new connections, and discussing cutting-edge research made it truly memorable. I’m already looking forward to the next meeting!
Here are some pictures from the event. Thanks for reading! 😊🙏
Dr. Prabodha Kumar Meher 