Rabindra Nath Chaudhuri (1901–1981) was an Indian physician, medical academic and the director of the

Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine (CSTM) is a medical institute from Kolkata, India dedicated in the field of tropical disease. It was established in 1914 by Leonard Rogers (1868–1962) of the Indian Medical Service, professor of pathology ...

Early life and education

Born in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

in 1901, he graduated in medicine from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

before securing his MRCP degree from the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

and the degree of TDD from Wales.

Career

He started his career as an assistant professor at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine in 1934 where he became a professor in 1945 and the director of the institution in 1950 before superannuating in 1966. He also served at Carmichael Hospital for Tropical Diseases as a Superintendent and Senior Physician. Chaudhuri is known to have done extensive research on diseases such as

Cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

Malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

Amoebiasis Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasitic amoeba '' Entamoeba histolytica''. Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include lethargy, loss of weight, colonic ...

and

Hypoproteinemia Hypoproteinemia is a condition where there is an abnormally low level of protein in the blood. There are several causes that all result in edema once serum protein levels fall below a certain threshold. Causes # Nutritional hypoproteinemia is due ...

and was credited with contributions to

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemother ...

and

chemoprophylaxis Chemoprevention (also chemoprophylaxis) refers to the administration of a medication for the purpose of preventing disease or infection. Antibiotics, for example, may be administered to patients with disorders of immune system function to preven ...

of malaria. He sat in the

Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

as a member, edited the Indian Medical Gazette and was a member of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Acade ...

during 1968–70. He was also associated with Indian Medical Association, Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists, International Congress of Tropical Medicine and Malaria and Indian Association for the Advancement of Medical Education as a member, presided over the Medical and Veterinary Section of the

Indian Science Congress Indian Science Congress Association(ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. It has a ...

and served the

Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, more commonly known by its acronym RSTMH, was founded in 1907 by Sir James Cantlie and George Carmichael Low. Sir Patrick Manson, the Society's first President (1907–1909), was recognised as "t ...

as its vice president during 1973–74. He was a founder fellow of the

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a nodal agency under the Government of India, which acts as an advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a ...

and an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and the

, London. The Government of India awarded Chaudhuri the third highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, in 1960, for his contributions to medical science. He also received the ANB Prize of the

in 1968 and the Kamala Menon Medical Research Award of the

Indian Council of Medical Research The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Gove ...

in 1977. He died on 6 August 1981, at the age of 80.

References

Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine 1901 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Indian medical doctors Indian medical academics Indian medical administrators University of Calcutta alumni Indian medical researchers Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Scientists from West Bengal University of Calcutta faculty {{India-med-bio-stub

Early life and education

Career

See also

References