Badri Nath Tandon (1 August 1931 – 5 March 2018) was an Indian
gastroenterologist,
hepatologist, medical researcher and academic, and the Chairman and Senior Consultant of Gastroenterology, at Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute,
Noida
Noida (), short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (ISO: ), is a city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. As per provisional reports of Census of India, the population of Noida in 2011 was ...
.
He is a former Professor and Head of Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition Unit at the
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi (AIIMS) and a former Director and Senior Consultant of Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute for Liver, Renal and Digestive Diseases, New Delhi.
He is a recipient of several awards including
Sasakawa WHO Health Prize and Jubilee Medal of the
RAMS
In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...
, in 1986, for his contributions to medicine.
Biography
Badri Nath Tandon, born on 1 August 1931
in a
Khatri
Khatri () is a caste system in India, caste originating from the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are war ...
family,
graduated in medicine (MBBS) from
King George Medical College, Lucknow and secured his post-graduate degree (MD) from the same institution.
Subsequently, he joined
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
, Boston for advanced training in gastroenterology followed by training in Nutrition Science at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, Cambridge.
He started his career at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in 1962 as a member of faculty where he stayed till 1991. It was during this period he founded the Department of Gastroenterology at AIIMS, serving the department as its head and as a Professor at the Human Nutrition Unit till his superannuation from AIIMS service on 31 August 1991.
In 1993, he shifted to Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute for Liver, Renal and Digestive Diseases, New Delhi as its director and senior consultant and served the institution till 2000 when he moved to Metro Group of Hospitals, Noida as its chairman, a post he holds till date.
Tandon was associated with several medical and socio-medical initiatives. When the
Integrated Child Development Services
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is a government program in India which provides nutritional meals, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and thei ...
(Anganwadi) scheme was introduced in India, with assistance from
UNICEF
UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
, in 1975, he chaired the technical committee of the program from inception till 1995.
He served as the chairman of the ''Task Force of Liver Diseases'' initiated by 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 ...
(ICMR) and is the incumbent chair of the ''Digestive Diseases Foundation of India'' and the ''Digestive Diseases Research Foundation''.
He has been the president of such societies as International Association of Liver Diseases, Asian Pacific Association for the Study of Liver, Indian Society of Gastroenterology
and Nutrition Society of India (1995–99)
and the vice-president of the
World Gastroenterology Organisation.
Tandon is known to have conducted pioneering research on bowel diseases, effects of malnutrition on intestine, pancreas and liver and the role of pathogens and food toxins in various diseases.
His work on veno-occlusive disease of the liver helped in the discovery that
pyrrolizidine alkaloids
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), sometimes referred to as necine bases, are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Their use dates back centuries and is intertwined with the discovery, understanding, and ...
present in the
Jhunjhunia seeds could cause the disease.
He is also credited with the isolation of
Hepatitis E virus and the introduction of a new therapeutic protocol of the Hepatitis E as well as
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...
using herbal plants.
His researches have been documented in over 225 medical papers and four monographs.
He has also published two text books, ''Textbook Of Tropical Gastroenterology'',
and ''Tropical Hepato-Gastroenterology'',
and has contributed 13 chapters to text books written by others.
Besides being the founder editor of ''Tropical Gastroenterology'' journal,
he also sat on the editorial boards of several national and international journals; National Medical Journal, Ceylon Medical Journal, Asian Pacific Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hepatology Communication, European Journal of Hepatology,
Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and Gastroenterology International counting among them.
Badri Nath Tandon died in
New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
on 5 March 2018, at the age of 86.
Awards and honors
Tandon was a Fellow of the
National Academy of Medical Sciences, elected to the position in 1974.
He was also a Fellow of the
Indian National Science Academy
The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three b ...
, Indian Academy of Pediatrics, Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicines and the Indian Public Health Association.
The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of the
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...
in 1986.
He received the
Sasakawa WHO Health Prize of the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
in 1990 and the Jubilee Medal of the
Russian Academy of Medical Sciences
The USSR Academy of Medical Sciences () was the highest scientific and medical organization founded in the Soviet Union founded in 1944. Its successor is the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences founded in 1992, and is a part of the Russian Academy ...
in 1995.
He delivered several award orations such as ''Dr. R.V. Rajam Oration'' (1983–84) of the
National Academy of Medical Sciences,
and was also a recipient of Kent Memorial Award of the National Homoeopathic Association (1998), Lifetime Achievement Award of the New Delhi chapter of the
Indian Medical Association (2004) and the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award of Indian society of Gastroenterology (2007).
See also
*
List of Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
*
King George's Medical University
King George's Medical University is a medical university located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The medical school was raised to a university by an act passed by the government of Uttar Pradesh on 16 September 2002. It is the only governmen ...
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tandon, Badri Nath
1931 births
2018 deaths
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine
Indian medical academics
Indian medical writers
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Academic staff of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Indian gastroenterologists
Indian hepatologists
Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences
Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
20th-century Indian medical doctors
King George's Medical University alumni
University of Lucknow alumni
Sasakawa Health Prize laureates
Harvard Medical School people