Sunil K. Pandya
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| name = Sunil K. Pandya
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| birth_name = Sunilkumar Krishnalal Pandya
| birth_date = 1940
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| death_date = 17 December 2024
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| occupation = Neurosurgeon
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| known_for = Head of the Department of Neurosurgery at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) and Seth GS Medical College
Founding member Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
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| education = Grant Medical College
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| influences = Homi Minocher Dastur
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| workplaces = Institute of Neurology, London
KEM and Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai
Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai
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Sunil K. Pandya (1940 - 17 December 2024) was an Indian neurosurgeon, ethicist, and medical historian, known for being the head of the Department of Neurosurgery at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) and Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai, and founding the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics.{{cite journal |last1=Gnanavel |first1=Sundar |title=Human Behaviour |journal=Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine |date=1 October 2015 |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=478–479 |doi=10.1177/09751564201504 |doi-broken-date=15 February 2025 |pmc=4676227 }}
Early life and education
Sunil K. Pandya was born Sunilkumar Krishnalal Pandya in Santacruz, Mumbai, on 11 February 1940.{{cite journal |last1=Goel |first1=Atul |last2=Nadkarni |first2=Trimurti D. |last3=Pauranik |first3=Apoorva |title=Prof. Sunil K. Pandya |journal=Neurology India |date=February 2025 |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=202 |doi=10.4103/neurol-india.Neurol-India-D-25-00005 |doi-access=free |issn=0028-3886}} In 1961 he graduated in medicine from Grant Medical College, where he also completed his internship, residency, and Master of Surgery in 1965.{{cite news |last1=Nagral |first1=Sanjay |title=Dr. Sunil Pandya: In memory of a teacher, a neurosurgeon, Gandhian |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/in-memory-of-a-teacher-a-neurosurgeon-gandhian-101735153357707.html |access-date=13 February 2025 |work=Hindustan Times |date=26 December 2024 |language=en-us}}
Career
In 1974, with a Commonwealth medical scholarship, Pandya trained under Valentine Logue at the Institute of Neurology in London, where he was also taught by Majid Samii and Gazi Yaşargil. He returned to India after a year to take up a post at the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM), Mumbai, in 1975. There, commonly known as Dr SKP, he worked for a few years with Homi Minocher Dastur, and remained there for 23 years. His contributions to neurosurgery included microneurosurgery in general and vascular surgery. He was appointed KEM's chair of Medical Humanities, a post created following the death of KEM's head of anatomy, Manu Kothari.
Pandya co-founded the journal Issues in Medical ethics, a precursor of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, which he edited for several years. He was also on the editorial boards of the National Medical Journal of India and the Men’s Sana Monographs. His interest in history of medicine was influenced by KEM's Ashok Vaidya and Samuel J. Aptekar of the Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital. This interest made him a follower of the works of Sir William Osler. After retiring from KEM in 1998, Pandya joined Jaslok Hospital.
Death
Pandya died from interstitial lung disease on 17 December 2024. He was survived by his wife Subha, an electrophysiologist, and two children.{{cite journal |last1=Jesani |first1=Amar |title=The bioethics movement in India and the legacy of Sunil Pandya |journal=Indian Journal of Medical Ethics |date=6 February 2025 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=3–5 |doi=10.20529/IJME.2025.006 |url=https://ijme.in/articles/the-bioethics-movement-in-india-and-the-legacy-of-sunil-pandya/?galley=html |language=en}}
Selected publications
- {{cite journal |title=Understanding brain, mind and soul: contributions from neurology and neurosurgery |journal=Mens Sana Monographs |date=January 2011 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=129–149 |doi=10.4103/0973-1229.77431 |doi-broken-date=15 February 2025 |doi-access=free |pmid=21694966 |issn=1998-4014 |last1=Pandya |first1=Sunilk |pmc=3115284 }}
- {{cite journal |title=The Medical Council of India: need for a total overhaul |journal=Indian Journal of Medical Ethics |date=1 April 2014 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=68–71 |doi=10.20529/IJME.2014.020 |pmid=24727616 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24727616/ |issn=0974-8466 |last1=Pandya |first1=Sunil K. |doi-access=free }}
- {{cite journal |title=As I approach the end of my life… |journal=Journal of Postgraduate Medicine |date=2015 |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=217–220 |doi=10.4103/0022-3859.166507 |doi-access=free |pmc=4943372 |language=en |issn=0022-3859 |last1=Pandya |first1=S. |pmid=26440389 }}
- {{cite journal |title=Dr Charles Morehead MD (Edinburgh), FRCP (1807–1882): Pioneer in medical education |journal=Journal of Medical Biography |date=1 May 2015 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=73–83 |doi=10.1177/0967772013506821 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0967772013506821 |language=en |issn=0967-7720|url-access=subscription |last1=Pandya |first1=Sunil K. |pmid=24585609 }}
- {{cite journal |title=Dr Pranjivandas Manekchand Mehta MD, MS, FCPS 1889–1981 and Caraka Samhita (1949) |journal=Journal of Medical Biography |date=26 December 2024 |pages=09677720241304740 |doi=10.1177/09677720241304740 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09677720241304740?journalCode=jmba |language=en |issn=0967-7720|url-access=subscription |last1=Pandya |first1=Sunil K. |pmid=39726131 }}
References
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Further reading
- {{cite journal |last1=Pandya |first1=Sunil K. |title=My recent experiences as a patient |journal=Indian Journal of Medical Ethics |date=2012 |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=158–160 |doi=10.20529/IJME.2012.052 |pmid=22864069 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22864069/ |issn=0974-8466}}
External links
- {{cite journal |title=IJME Tribute - celebrating the life and work of our Founder Editor, Dr Sunil Pandya |journal=Indian Journal of Medical Ethics |url=https://ijme.in/ijme-tribute-celebrating-the-life-and-work-of-our-founder-editor-dr-sunil-pandya/ |language=en}}
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Category:21st-century scholars