Santosh Gajanan Honavar is an Indian ophthalmologist and is currently the Honorary General Secretary of the All India Ophthalmological Society; Director of Medical Services (Centre for Sight Group); Director, Department of Ocular Oncology and Oculoplasty at ''Centre for Sight'',

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

; and Director, National Retinoblastoma Foundation. He was the Editor of the ''Indian Journal of Ophthalmology'' and ''Indian Journal of Ophthalmology - Case Reports'', the official journals of the All India Ophthalmological Society from 2017 to 2023. A former head of the Department of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery and Ocular Oncology and associate director at L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, he is known for his research on

retinoblastoma Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a rare form of cancer that rapidly develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting tissue of the eye. It is the most common primary malignant intraocular cancer in children, and 80% of retinoblastoma cas ...

. He is counted among the top 2% of world researchers and tops the list of researchers in Ophthalmology in India. The

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR; IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada'') is a research and development (R&D) organisation in India to promote scientific, industrial and economic growth. Headquarter ...

, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology Shanti or Shanthi may refer to: In Sanskrit * Inner peace, a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress * Kshanti, one of the paramitas of B ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 2009.. Dr Honavar is the only Indian Ophthalmologist to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, London, UK.

Biography

Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute

Santosh Honavar, born in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

in the Indian state

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

to Bhavani Ganapi Melinkeri and Gajanan Narayan Honavar, graduated in medicine from

Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), (Beṅgaḷūru Vaidyakīya Mahāvidyālaya mattu Sanśōdhanā Sansthé) formerly Bangalore Medical College (BMC), is a medical college in Bengaluru, India run by the Government of Karn ...

and did his post-graduate training and Senior Residency in Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Glaucoma and Pediatric Ophthalmology at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Center for Ophthalmic Sciences of the

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 ...

. Subsequently, he moved to the US to undergo advanced training at

Wills Eye Hospital Wills Eye Hospital is a non-profit eye clinic and hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1832 and is the oldest continually operating eye-care facility in the United States. It is the ophthalmology residency program for T ...

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. ...

where he had the opportunity to train under Jerry A. Shields,

Carol Shields Carol Ann Shields (née Warner; June 2, 1935 – July 16, 2003) was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 1993 novel ''The Stone Diaries'', which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as t ...

and Arun Singh. On his return to India, he continued to work with L. V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) where he strengthened the Department of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery and founded ''Ocular Oncology Service'', the first facility for ocular oncology in India. He rose to become the associate director of LVPEI and last held the position of the director of ''Patient Care Policies and Planning'' at LVPEI. Subsequently, he moved to ''Centre for Sight'', Hyderabad (CFS) and heads the Department of Ocular Oncology and Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery. He is also the director of ''National Retinoblastoma Foundation'' since 2013 and CFS Education, the educational and training division of Centre for Sight. He has been working in close association with the renowned oncologist Vijay Anand Reddy for over 20 years now, managing the entire spectrum of tumors of the eye and adnexa. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr Honavar is currently the editor of ''Indian Journal of Ophthalmology'', and Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports.

Legacy

Ocular oncology, especially

, has been the principal research area of Honavar and he is known to have contributed to the understanding and treatment of various tumors affecting the ocular surface and orbit. Working on retinoblastoma, he developed various therapeutic and management protocols which included high-dose and periocular chemotherapy,

adjuvant In pharmacology, an adjuvant is a drug or other substance, or a combination of substances, that is used to increase the efficacy or potency of certain drugs. Specifically, the term can refer to: * Adjuvant therapy in cancer management * Anal ...

therapy to mitigate the high risk of metastasis and multimodal management of orbital affection of the disease and he is reported to have treated over 2000 pediatric retinoblastoma patients with a success rate above of 85%. At L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, he was the first to perform intra-ocular

brachytherapy Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation, radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. The word "brachytherapy" comes from the Ancient Greek, Greek word , meaning "short-distance" or "s ...

procedure, along with Vijay Anand Reddy. His article can be found in online repositories such as

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...

and

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education' ...

. Besides, he has contributed chapters to books published by others. He is a section editor for ''Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology'' and is a member of the advisory committee of

International Council of Ophthalmology The International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) is an international organisation that represents professional associations of Ophthalmology, ophthalmologists. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Board of Trustees is the executive b ...

. He serves as the scientific program coordinator of Oculoplastic Association of India and has also mentored research scholars in their studies. The invited speeches delivered by him include the ''BOPSS 2016'' of the British Oculoplastic Surgery Society.

Awards and honors

# Honavar, who held the ARVO-Santen International Fellowship in 1996 and Zeigler International Fellowship of Orbis International in 1999, is a recipient of the Pfizer National Award (1990) and the Col. Rangachari Gold Medal (1992) of the All India Ophthalmological Society. # The Indian Society of Oncology awarded him the Young Scientist Award in 2000 and he received two awards from the Andhra Pradesh State Ophthalmological Society in 2001 viz. Dr. Vengala Rao Award and Career Achievement Award. # He has received five honors from

American Academy of Ophthalmology The American Academy of Ophthalmology is a professional association, professional medical association of ophthalmologists. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its membership of 32,000 medical doctors includes more than 90 percent ...

, the Best of Show Award in 2002, 2006 and 2010, Achievement Award in 2002, and the Senior Achievement Award in 2009. In between, he received the Dr. Siva Reddy International Award of All India Ophthalmological Society in 2007. # The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Shanti or Shanthi may refer to: In Sanskrit * Inner peace, a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress * Kshanti, one of the paramitas of B ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards in 2009. # He also delivered the Dr. Surya Prasad Rao Award Oration of the Andhra Pradesh State Ophthalmological Association in 2006. # MA Matin Award, Bangladesh Academy of Ophthalmology, 2013 # Jerry Shields International Award, APAO, 2013 # Distinguished Service Award, APAO, 2019 # Peter Rogers Oration, RANZCO, 2019 # In December, 2019, he was awarded the Life Achievement Honor Award by the

, he's the first Indian to receive the award. # Dr Honavar is the only Indian to be bestowed upon the Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK, 2020.

Notes

References

External links