Kota: Komal Verma Saluja, a final-year MBBS student of Govt Medical College Kota, has received the American College of Physicians (ACP) India Chapter’s “Researcher of the Year Award 2026”, becoming the first medical student and the youngest recipient of the award.Founded in 1915, the ACP is the world’s largest medical specialty organisation, representing more than 1.63 lakh physicians across over 172 countries. Saluja was selected by its credential committee for research contributions at international medical forums early in her medical career.Saluja’s work focuses on two major health concerns. Her first study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, used FreeSurfer-based cortical thickness measurements on brain MRIs to identify an imaging marker for early cognitive decline in patients with type 2 diabetes.Her second study proposed using routine echocardiography as an opportunistic screening tool for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease, or fatty liver disease, without requiring additional patient visits or costs. This work earned her an oral abstract presentation and a $2,000 International Travel Grant from the American College of Gastroenterology to attend its Annual Scientific Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, next month.“We are proud of Dr Komal for bagging such a prestigious global award. It will inspire other students of the college,” Government Medical College Kota principal Dr Nilesh Jain told TOI.Speaking to TOI, Saluja said, “I dedicate this award to the faculty of my medical college for their mentorship and support. I see it as an acknowledgement and endorsement of the meaningful potential impact of my research.”Saluja is also Rajasthan’s first student selected for the Khorana Programme for Scholars, a research fellowship of the Department of Biotechnology, Govt of India, under the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum.Pic Dr Komal Verma Saluja (R) receiving “Researcher of the Year Award 2026” from ACP’s Dr Noel N Diep (standing centre behind) and Dr Mukta Panda (L), Dean of Medicine, Tennessee, USA,
