* Atul Kumar is an Indian

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

who is currently the Chief & Professor of Ophthalmology at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences (RPC-AIIMS), the national apex ophthalmic centre at

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS New Delhi), is a public medical research university and hospital in New Delhi, India. The institute is governed by the AIIMS Act, 1956 and operates autonomously under the Ministry of He ...

. He was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

award in January 2007 for his services to the medical field. He specializes in vitreoretinal surgery and also heads the Vitreo-Retinal,

Uvea The uvea (; derived from meaning "grape"), also called the uveal layer, uveal coat, uveal tract, vascular tunic or vascular layer, is the pigmented middle layer of the three concentric layers that make up an eye, precisely between the inne ...

and ROP services at RPC-AIIMS.

Early life and education

Kumar was born in September 1956. After graduating from the Modern School, Barakhamba in Delhi, he graduated from the

Maulana Azad Medical College Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) is a medical college in New Delhi, India affiliated to University of Delhi and run by the Government of Delhi. It is named after Indian freedom fighter and first education minister of independent India Mau ...

. He studied ophthalmology at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at

(AIIMS), where he received an MD degree and completed his senior residency in vitreo-retina and uvea unit before joining the faculty. In 1991 he went had a fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

Achievements and positions

Kumar is a specialist in diseases of the retina, vitreous and uvea and their management. His academic disciplines include Vitreoretinal surgery, Ophthalmic Lasers,

Uveal diseases The uvea (; derived from meaning "grape"), also called the uveal layer, uveal coat, uveal tract, vascular tunic or vascular layer, is the pigmented middle layer of the three concentric layers that make up an eye, precisely between the inner ...

, Macular Hole surgery,

anti-VEGF Anti–vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, also known as anti-VEGF () therapy or medication, is the use of medications that block vascular endothelial growth factor. This is done in the treatment of certain cancers and in age-related macu ...

injections,

Age Related Macular Degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Some people experien ...

, Retinal Detachment surgery, Myopic Traction Maculopathy, Pathological Myopia and Macular Hole Retinal Detachment. He is presently the Chief and Professor of Ophthalmology at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, preceded in this post by Prof. Yog Raj Sharma. He is also commissioned as the Honorary Advisor in Ophthalmology to the Government of India (2016) and the Honorary Vitreo-Retinal Consultant to Armed Forces Medical Services from 2015 to 2018. Under his leadership, AIIMS doctors announced India as free of the eye infection

Trachoma Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. The infection causes a roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. This roughening can lead to pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea ...

in March 2017. This announcement came as a part of golden jubilee celebration of the institute. Kumar is steering the national efforts towards elimination of blindness by heading the

WHO Collaborating Centre World Health Organization collaborating centres are institutions that work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in disciplines such as occupational health, food safety, and communicable disease prevention. There are over 700 such centres across ...

for Prevention of Blindness in

SEARO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 150 ...

. Kumar has been associated with several organizations and holds positions of responsibilities with many of them. Kumar is also a member of national and state ophthalmological societies in India and has held examiner positions in various medical examinations for graduates and postgraduates. He is presently the Chairman of the Advocacy Committee of All India Ophthalmological Society and the Honorary Editor of

Indian Journal of Ophthalmology The ''Indian Journal of Ophthalmology'' is a peer-reviewed open-access medical journal published on behalf of the All India Ophthalmological Society. The journal publishes articles on ophthalmology and vision science. Abstracting and indexing T ...

(IJO) on whose editorial board, he has been working previously. He has been a Past Chairperson of the Scientific Committee of Vitreo-Retinal Society of India (VRSI), a scientific organization of posterior-segment eye surgeons of India.

Awards and recognitions

The Padma Shri award was awarded to Kumar in 2007 by the 13th President of India, Shri

Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...

. It is the fourth highest civilian award in India, given for services in medicine. The President of India has also conferred Dr. B.C. Roy National award to him for excellence in field of medicine in the category of Eminent Medical Teacher. The University Grants Commission recognized his scientific work by giving Hari Om Ashram Trust Award for role as outstanding social scientist for interaction between science and society. Kumar is also a fellow of

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a non-constitutional, non-statutory advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a promoting agency for contin ...

, 2006. The alumni body of his high school too has felicitated him with Modern School Old Student Association (MSOSA) Excellence Award. Very recently, in 2017, he has been awarded the

Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Roya ...

, Edinburgh FRCS (ad hominem) for his furtherance and excellence in vitreo-retinal surgical techniques.

Controversy

In April 2018, Kumar slapped a resident doctor at the RPC, eliciting major protests from the resident doctors of AIIMS.

Publications

Kumar has over 250 publications in medical journals, chapters in over 20 books, authored various books on diseases of the retina and vitreous and their management.

Selected books/chapters

* Ocular Tuberculosis * Ocular Infections: Prophylaxis and Management * Lasers in Ophthalmology * Ophthalmology Clinics for Postgraduates * Disorders of Retina and Vitreous * "Angiogenic Agents and Photodynamic Therapy" in ''Pharmacology of Ocular Therapeutics'' * 'Retinal Laser Scanning and Digital Imaging' in 'Clinical Ophthalmology: Contemporary Perspectives' * Contributions in Rashtriya Sahara (Volume 2, Issue 2), released by Sahara India Mass Communication, 1991

References

External links

"Atul Kumar"

Microsoft Academic Search Microsoft Academic Search (MAS) was a research project and academic search engine retired in 2012. It relaunched in 2016 as Microsoft Academic, which in turn was shut down in 2022. The content of the latter was allegedly incorporated into The L ...

. 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2017. * https://www.news18.com/news/india/aiims-strike-enters-day-2-resident-doctors-unhappy-with-kumar-going-on-leave-1732203.html

* https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/day-3-aiims-resident-doctors-continue-strike-1222186-2018-04-28

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Atul Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine Indian ophthalmologists Academic staff of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Indian surgeons