Saroj Chooramani Gopal (born 25 July 1944) is an Indian medical doctor and medical educater. She 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 ...

in 2013 for her contributions to the fields of medicine and medical education. She is the first woman to get an M.Ch. in

Pediatric Surgery Pediatric surgery is a subspecialty of surgery involving the surgery of fetuses, infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. History Pediatric surgery arose in the middle of the 1879 century as the surgical care of birth defects required ...

in the country.

Biography

Saroj Chooramani Gopal was born on 25 July 1944, in the pilgrim city of Mathura,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. After schooling, she chose a career in medicine, graduated from the

Sarojini Naidu Medical College Sarojini Naidu Medical College (SNMC), is one of the oldest medical schools of India. It is located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh state. It is named after the first lady Governess of Uttar Pradesh, poet and freedom fighter, Bharat Kokila Smt. Sarojini ...

, Agra in 1966 and did MS at the same college, in 1969. This was followed by securing MCh in paediatric surgery from the

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New 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 ...

, in 1973, the first woman to obtain a degree in paediatric surgery in India. Saroj Gopal's career started by joining the faculty of the

Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University The Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS-BHU) is one of the Six institutes of Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India and comprises three faculties, Faculty of Medicine, Dental Sciences, and Ayurveda. The Institute of Medical Sciences is th ...

in 1973 where she worked till her retirement in 2008 as the Medical Superintendent of the medical college hospital and as the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. That year, she was selected as the Vice Chancellor of the

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 ...

(KGMU), Lucknow, becoming the first woman to head the university which for a while during the reign of

Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born Kumari Mayawati Das; 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1995 to 1995, 1997 to 1997, 2002 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. She is the national president of t ...

, was under the name, the ''Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University''. She retired from the university in 2011.

Legacy

Saroj Chooramani Gopal is reported to have pioneered several techniques in paediatric surgery and is known for the developmental efforts put in by her during her tenure with KGMU, besides the many research articles she has published.

Scientific and administrative contributions

Gopal is credited with many low cost innovations intended to benefit the financially compromised people. The

National Research Development Corporation The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) was a non-departmental government body established by the British Government to transfer technology from the public sector to the private sector. History The NRDC was established by Attlee's La ...

, (NRDC) New Delhi have issued patents for six of those innovations to Saroj Gopal. She has also been reported to have invented new surgical techniques and she has published the details of three of such techniques. She helped establish a well equipped ''Department of Child and New Born Surgery'' at the Institute of Medical Sciences during her tenure at the institute. She has also organized many international symposia in paediatric surgery, has delivered key note addresses at a few of them and has participated in many social campaigns.

Publications

Gopal has published several articles, counted at 120, in peer-reviewed national and international journals. Some of her articles on

hemangioma A hemangioma or haemangioma is a usually benign vascular tumor derived from blood vessel cell types. The most common form, seen in infants, is an infantile hemangioma, known colloquially as a "strawberry mark", most commonly presenting on the sk ...

and

teratoma A teratoma is a neoplasia, tumor made up of several types of biological tissue, tissue, such as hair, muscle, Human tooth, teeth, or bone. Teratomata typically form in the tailbone (where it is known as a sacrococcygeal teratoma), ovary, or test ...

have provided valuable insights on the treatment of the disease. * * *

Positions

Saroj Gopal holds the position of the honorary Professor of the Centre of Biomedical Research. She was the President of the ''Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons'', in 1998, of which she is currently a member. She has been a member of the Expert Panel of the

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 ...

, New Delhi, an examiner with many universities and an inspector of the University Grants Commission. Currently she is the President of the

, New Delhi. She is also a member of professional bodies like the Association of Surgeons of India, the

Indian Medical Association The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is a private, national voluntary organisation of physicians in India. It was established in 1928 as the All India Medical Association, and was renamed the Indian Medical Association in 1930. It is a society r ...

and the Indian Academy of Medical Sciences.

Awards and recognitions

Saroj Gopal is a recipient of many honours such as: * Commonwealth Medical Scholarship, 1984 * Senior Commonwealth Medical Scholarship, 1994 * INSA Senior Fellowship -

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 ...

- 1994 * Indo German Fellowship - 1997 * Indo Finnish Fellowship - 1994 * University Grants Commission Fellowship *

Fellowship The Government of India conferred the

Dr. B. C. Roy Award The Bidhan Chandra Roy Award is an award instituted in 1962 in memory of Dr. B. C. Roy by the Medical Council of India. It is presented by the President of India in New Delhi every year on July 1, National Doctors' Day. It is also the highest h ...

on Gopal in 2002, and followed it up with the civilian award of the

, in 2013. She has also received the President's Medal in 1966, Shushila Nair Shield for excellence in studies, Dr Mridula Rohtagi Oration Award of the Association of Pediatric Surgeons of India in 2005, Col. Sangam Lal Oration Award of Indian National Medical Academy in 2007.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gopal, Saroj Chooramani 1944 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine 20th-century Indian medical doctors Indian medical writers Indian medical academics Scientists from Varanasi Indian surgeons Dr. B. C. Roy Award winners Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy 20th-century Indian inventors Academic staff of Banaras Hindu University All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi alumni Sarojini Naidu Medical College alumni Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University alumni Heads of universities and colleges in India Indian women science writers Indian women surgeons 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian women educational theorists Women scientists from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian women scientists 21st-century Indian women scientists 21st-century Indian medical doctors 21st-century Indian educational theorists 21st-century Indian women educators 21st-century Indian educators Medical doctors from Uttar Pradesh Women educators from Uttar Pradesh Educators from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian women medical doctors 21st-century Indian women medical doctors 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educators Indian paediatric surgeons Women paediatric surgeons