Contribution of Professor of Mahendra Pal in Science

Contribution of Prof. Dr. Mahendra Pal in Science Prof. Mahendra Pal, born on 10-04-1964 in Delhi, India, is an internationally renowned scientist and a well known distinguished academician, who has over 46 years experience of research, teaching, disease investigation, planning, and administration in the field of Veterinary Science. Prof. Pal obtained B.V.Sc. &A.H., M.V.P.H., Ph.D., and D.Sc. from Indian Universities in 1969, 1975, 1981, and 2008, respectively. Prof. Pal worked in Veterinary and Medical Colleges in India and other foreign countries, and published over 502 papers, and authored 7 books. His books namely on “Zoonoses” and “Veterinary and Medical Mycology” are highly appreciated by veterinary and medical professionals of the world. Prof. Pal guided over 67 students at DVM, MSc, MVSc and Ph.D. level in India and Ethiopia. He is credited to develop Sunflower seed agar (Pal’s medium) (1980), Modified sunflower seed medium (1986), APRM medium (2015), PHOL stain (1990), and Narayan stain (1998) for the study of fungi, which are implicated in the etiology of many clinical disorders of humans and animals. Prof. Pal elucidated for the first time the role of Cryptococcus neoformans in the mastitis of goat and buffalo, Fusarium solani in corneal ulcer of buffalo, Aspergillus fumigatus in rhinitis of camel and mule, Trichophyton verrucosum in dermatitis of deer, Candida tropicalis in human lung empyema, Nocardia asteroides in keratitis of cattle, Aspergillus niger in abortion of bufffalo, and Aspergillus fumigatus in ocular disorders of cattle and buffalo, Exserohium rostratum in equine dermatitis, Trichosporon beigelii in cutaneous lesion of cattle, and human lung empyema, and Staphylococcus aureus in wound of Hanuman Langur. He has established for the first time the prevalence of Cryptococcus neoformans in the environment of New Zealand, Nepal, and Djibouti. He has reported the first isolation of Candida albicans from mastitic milk, and Trichophyton verrucosum in dermatitis of camel in Ethiopia. Prof. Pal biography has been published in Who’s Who in World, Who’s Who in Asia, and Who’s Who in Science and Engineering. He has published many papers in collaboration with scientists of New Zealand, South Korea, Nepal, Belgium, Japan, and USA. Prof. Pal is the recipient of “Distinguished Teacher Award, and Jawaharlal Nehru Award. Very recently, The Indian Association of Veterinary Public Health recognized the laudable contributions of Prof. Pal in the field of Veterinary Public Health and conferred him with “Lifetime Achievement Award” on February 4, 2014. He is the First Asian to work as “Deputy Editor” of Mycoses- An International Journal of Medical and Veterinary Mycology, published from Germany. In addition, he is serving as Honorary Editor, Associate Editor, and Member of the Editorial Board of many scientific journals. He is also working as Honorary Member of several professional societies/associations. Prof. Pal is the First Indian Veterinarian who worked as “JSPS Visiting Scientist” at University of Tokyo, Japan. He is serving as “Member” of Infectious Diseases working Group of EAZWA, Switzerland. Prof. Pal started MVSc and Ph.D. programme in Veterinary Public Health at Veterinary College, Anand, Gujarat, India, and he was also instrumental to start Ph.D. in Veterinary Public Health for the First Time in Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. In addition, he has helped few Medical Colleges in India to develop Medical Mycology. He has delivered many Guest Lectures on Zoonoses, and Medical Mycology at Veterinary and Medical Colleges in India and other countries such as Japan, New Zealand, Belgium, and Ethiopia. Prof. Pal was awarded “Fellow” by the National Academy of Veterinary Sciences (FNAVS), and also by Korean Society of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Seoul, South Korea (FKSVCM) for his pioneer and commendable work in Veterinary Public Health. Very recently, the Indian Association of Veterinary Public Health Specialists (IAVPHS) has instituted an award in the name of Prof. Pal to remember and honour his outstanding, immense, commendable, significant, and pioneer contributions in Veterinary Public Health. The name of award is “Prof. Mahendra Pal Award in Zoonoses”, which is given every year during the National Conference of Veterinary Public Health to any scientist, whose research is judged the best by the panel of Experts in the field. Prof. Pal is serving as Honorary Adviser to several institutes for the development of Veterinary Public Health and Medical Mycology. His comprehensive and systematic work in the last 46 years on the epidemiology and diagnosis of zoonoses (diseases communicable to humans and animals) as helped the scientists to develop strategies for the control of diseases, which are of global importance from public health and economic point of view. Prof.Pal’s work is frequently cited by many scientists in their textbooks, research papers, reviews, and monographs. His over 202 papers and 175 papers are uploaded on Research Gate and Academia, respectively for the larger benefit of scientific community of world. Presently, his papers are viewed by the scientists of over 115 countries of the world. Moreover, Prof. Pal is also doing social and charitable work to the poor and needy people of the society since 1970 at his personal level. His email is palmahendra2@gmail.com and his mobile no. is 091- 9426085328.