With the pandemic wreaking havoc across the globe, one of the most important things that have helped curtail the spread thus far has been medical research. However, there is still an apprehension when participating in research, especially that for covid-19.
Distinguished investigator, Professor Khalid Khan, who has dedicated his expertise to Pakistan while working with Dr. Ghazna Siddiqui, the advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan on health emergency, explains:
“It’s unfortunate for people to have the perception that participating in research is an experiment and receiving care for covid-19 outside research is not. The real experiment is the provision of care without evidence for something that did not exist before.”
So, what role does research play during pandemics like Covid-19? Especially with no good research primarily offering opportunities for participants to benefit during the course of the research and also in the future. A pandemic like Covid-19 is unprecedented.
“There, unfortunately, is no textbook or previous learning which can help prepare practitioners on how to deal with the virus. What we do as researchers is that we help create new knowledge that educates healthcare providers about effective ways of succeeding against this new ailment,” Prof. Khalid adds.
Dr. Khalid Khan received his education from McMaster University, Canada, the University of Dundee, UK, and the Aga Khan University, Karachi, before receiving his qualifications as a researcher and educationalist in health.
He is also a Fellow of the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Pakistani College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the UK Higher Education Academy.
While achieving excellence in his field, he has also served as the former Editor-in-Chief of British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Editor of Evidence-Based Medicine – British Medical Journal and BioMedCentral Medical Education.
His editorial initiative, Core Outcomes in Women’s and Newborn Health (CROWN), won the BMA Strutt and Harper award.
Today, Dr. Khalid Khan continues to project a positive image of the country via his countless contributions, which have also earned him numerous accolades and titles:
These accolades include Spinoza Professor at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands; Sims Black Professor at the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in London; and Beatriz Galindo Distinguished Investigator at the University of Granada in Spain.
Beyond his many credentials, Dr. Khan is the lead author of the highly acclaimed book ‘Systematic Reviews to Support Evidence-based Medicine’, which won a British Medical Association Medical Book award.
It is available in English, Chinese, and German languages. The book continues to be an essential text for all medical, surgical, and health professionals. For nearly two decades, he has regularly been invited to deliver training workshops and lectures by many of the world’s most well-known conferences and universities at their most prestigious events.
Known as one of the top researchers in his field, Dr. Khalid Khan is currently a member of the Pakistan Government’s coronavirus scientific task force which collectively assesses the evidence and advises on activities to respond to the ongoing challenges.
Dr. Khalid Khan offers worldwide assistance to health researchers with research planning and writing. Furthermore, he has delivered writing courses directed at healthcare staff at any grade giving them the tools, tips, and tricks with which to prepare and submit convincing manuscripts for publication.
Dr. Khan has been invited to give courses to a worldwide audience in over 37 countries including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, Mongolia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Kenya, Tanzania, Argentina, and the EU (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, Spain, Italy).
In 2003, he founded Health Education Research (HER) Ltd, https://her-ltd.com/, a company that is passionate about perfection in research that takes ideas from hypothesis generation to publication and impact.
HER Ltd. has its expertise in developing the study design, writing protocols, seeking ethical and regulatory approvals, overseeing study conduct, planning data analyses, manuscript writing, peer-review, revisions, and dissemination.
