Prof. Dr. Mahendra Pal bestowed with International Achievement Award

It is a matter of great pleasure and happiness that Prof. Dr. Mahendra Pal, serving as Honorary Technical Editor (Veterinary Science) of our journal “Agriculture World” is honored with “International Achievement Award” during 6^th Academic Brilliance Awards Ceremony held at EET CRC, Noida, India on January 28, 2018 for his outstanding contribution in science, particularly  in Veterinary Public Health and Microbiology. He is an internationally renowned scientist and a well known distinguished academician, and has over 47 year’s experience of research, teaching, disease investigation, planning, and administration in the field of Veterinary Science.

Prof. Pal obtained BVSc and AH, MVPH, Ph.D. and D.Sc. in 1969, 1975, 1981, and 2008, respectively. Prof. Pal worked in Veterinary and Medical Colleges in India and abroad, and published over 575 papers and authored 8 books. Prof. Pal guided/advised over 67 students at DVM, MSc, MVSc, and Ph.D. level in India and Ethiopia. He is credited to elucidate for the first time the etiologic role of Cryptococcus neoformans in the mastitis of goat and buffalo, Trichophyton verrucosum in dermatitis of deer, Aspergillus niger in abortion of bufffalo Nocardia asteroides in keratitis of cattle, Aspergillus fumigatus in ocular disorders of cattle and buffalo, Exserohium rostratum in equine dermatitis, Fusarium solaniin corneal ulcer of buffalo, Aspergillus fumigatus in rhinitis of camel and mule, and Candida tropicalis in human lung empyema.

Prof. Pal 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’s 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, Ethiopia, Belgium, Japan, and USA. Prof. Pal is the recipient of several awards such as Distinguished Teacher Award, Jawaharlal Nehru Award, Best Paper presentation Award, Best Review Article Award, and Sandoz Medical Times Prize etc.

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. 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-in-Chief, Editor, Associate Editor, and Member of the Editorial Board of many peer reviewed online scientific journals. He is also working as Honorary Member of several professional societies and 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 M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. programme in Veterinary Public Health at Veterinary College, Anand, Gujarat, India, and he was also instrumental in launching Doctoral studies programme in Veterinary Public Health for the First Time in Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. In addition, he has helped a 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, and also by Korean Society of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Seoul, South Korea for his pioneer, significant, 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 Zoonoses Award”, 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. His comprehensive and systematic work in the last 47 years on the epidemiology and diagnosis has helped the scientists to develop strategies for the control of zoonotic diseases, which are of global importance from public health and economic point of view.

Prof. Pal work is frequently cited by many scientists in their textbooks, research papers, reviews, and monographs. Many technologies such as APRM agar, sunflower seed medium (Pal medium), PHOL stain, and Narayan stain and the like developed by Prof. Pal, has greatly helped the academicians at national and international levels to progress in their research. His more than 47 years continuous contributions to the role of fungi in animals and humans disorders have made an indelible mark on Veterinary Mycology in India and elsewhere.

Due to his immense, outstanding and commendable contribution through several discoveries and achievements, Prof. Pal is considered the Father of Veterinary Mycology in India. His major mission in the life is to help the academicians to pursuit their research work in the field of Veterinary Mycology. Despite his strong personal and professional satisfaction with research work in Belgium, he declined the offer of a full-time faculty position at Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, and returned to India in early 1986 to work for his nation (India). Very recently, Prof. Pal founded “Narayan Consultancy on Veterinary Public Health and Microbiology” to give free technical advice to the scientists of poor resource nations of the world. His more than 400 papers uploaded on international websites are viewed by 100,000 scientists of 125 countries of the world. Till now, over 2000 students are benefitted by the knowledge and wisdom of Prof. Pal. Moreover, Prof. Pal is also doing social and charitable work to the poor and needy people of the society since 1970 at personal level.

and wish him a happy, and healthy long life so that he may further contribute in science for the benefit of global community engaged in research and teaching of veterinary public health.

Reviewed by:

Editor of Agriculture World, New Delhi, India