Dr. R. Raveendran
Dr. R. Raveendran, Ex-Professor of Pharmacology at JIPMER, Pondicherry, did his MD in Pharmacology at JIPMER and Diploma in Clinical Pharmacology at St. Bathalomew's Medical College in London, UK. He joined JIPMER as a faculty member in 1993 and is passionate about making software for medical education. He has published over 50 research papers in international and national journals and authored a book.
He has been the chief editor of the Indian Journal of Pharmacology and the Journal of Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics. Armed with his vast experience in Experimental Pharmacology, he started making computer-simulated animal experiments in the late 1980s, and way back in 1989, he came out with a package named XPharm in GW-BASIC. Later, it was ported to QuickBasic in 1992 and then to Visual BASIC for Windows in 1997, which was distributed complimentary on his website and CDs for a nominal fee. With the advancement of technology, a web-based, online version of animal simulation software was launched in year 2010 and was very popular among the pharmacology & pharmacy faculty and undergraduate medical and pharmacy students. XPharm is a popular teaching tool used in India and abroad for the last few decades.
It was recommended by the Medical Council of India and the Pharmacy Council of India to replace animal experiments in undergraduate courses. XPharm was demonstrated at various international and national conferences and was appreciated by the pharmacology teachers Due to tremendous pressure from the pharmacology and pharmacy fraternity and to fill the void created by sub-standard solutions with similar names, it was decided to relaunch the XPharm on a new portal with fresh vibe and this is how MyCalPharm was conceived. The latest version, XPharm Neo which is laced with robust technology and with a highly user-friendly interface is available for subscription under the banner of myCALPharm.
Awards and Recognitions
Best poster award – Dorenkamp-Zbinden Poster Prize 2009 for the poster “Software controlled artificial animal models for teaching animal experiments by CR Patil and R.Raveendran” presented at 7th World Congress on Alternatives & Animal Use in the Life Sciences, Aug 30-Sept 3, 2009, Rome, Italy.
Best poster prize for the poster entitled “Computerized rat mannequin for simulating the effect of drugs on blood pressure” by CR Patil, PS Suryawanshi, R Raveendran presented at the 46th annual conference of IPS at the NIMHANS convention centre, Bangaluru from 16th to 18th December 2013.
First prize for the best oral paper presentation in the 4th Annual Conference of Indian Pharmacological Society 2013 (Puducherry Chapter) organized by IGMC, Puducherry on 15th November 2013.
First prize for the best oral paper presentation in the 6th Annual Conference of Indian Pharmacological Society 2015 (Puducherry Chapter) organized by IGMC, Puducherry on 12th Feb 2015
Pharmacology Teacher of Excellence by the Indian Pharmacological Society, IPSCON, Chennai, 2023
