Four eminent professors of PGI Chandigarh retire

Chandigarh: 4 PGI teaching faculty bid the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research farewell on their retirement recently. The four retiring faculty are Dr. Yogesh Chawla, former PGI Director/ Head of Hepatology Department, Prof Chetana Vaishnavi, Gastroenterology Department, Dr Digambar Behera, Dean (research) and Head, Pulmonary Medicine Department, and Dr B R Thapa, Head, Gastroenterology Department.

Prof Jagat Ram, Director, PGI presided over a function to honour the four.Former Directors, Professors and Heads of various departments, and were present on the occasion.

Chawla who served the Institute in various capacities for more than 34 years was the PGI Director from October 2011 until October 2016 and head of the department until September 2017. He was a recipient of many international and national awards and honours including Padma Shri in 2015, Dr B C Roy Medical Council of India Silver Jubilee Research Award in 1999 and multiple ICMR awards as well. His present appointment is as Chairman Academics, and Professor Emeritus at Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneshwar.

Dr Behera, appointed as junior resident PGI in January 1978, rose to become Dean (research) in August 2017. He has pioneered in the field of lung cancer and chemotherapy.

Prof Chetana Vaishnavi during her tenure made a significant contribution in the area of gastrointestinal infections for which she received laurels such as the ISG-ZydusAlidac Oration award (2009), Dr CGS Iyer Oration award and the Prof C M Habibullah Oration (2017).

Dr Thapa the last of the four achievers authored over 200 scientific papers, two books and wrote 60 chapters in various books reports TOI.