Adhya Miriam Tom, a student researcher from the College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, secured Second Place in Research Presentation at the SGH Neuroscience Conference 2026, hosted at Saudi German Hospital, Dubai, on 24th April 2026. This achievement reflects her strong academic commitment and growing engagement in research within public health and neuroscience. The conference brought together healthcare professionals, researchers, and students from across the region, making this recognition particularly notable in a competitive academic setting.
The award-winning study, titled “Understanding Dementia Prevention: Assessing Community Literacy Through a Cross-Sectional Study,” was conducted by students from the HDPCS and MBBS programs: Clara Hippler, Adhya Miriam Tom, Nikitha Sivarajan, Vedika Mundhra, Syed Shaheer Ali, and Sara Salah Al Azawi. The study was supervised by Dr. Jayakumary Muttappallymyalil, Prof. Jayadevan Sreedharan, Faculty, Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE, and Dr. Brijesh Sathian, Senior Research Scientist and Deputy Chair for Research at the Hamad Medical Corporation and affiliated with the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing, Qatar.
With dementia projected to rise by 2050 due to population aging, the study highlights the importance of assessing community knowledge to guide preventive strategies. While general awareness of dementia was found to be relatively high, significant gaps exist in recognizing modifiable risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and vascular disease. The findings also revealed a reliance on media rather than healthcare professionals for information, underscoring the need for structured, clinician-led health education.
Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
SDG 3: Good Health and Well Being; SDG 4: Quality Education
