M. C. Pant

Mohan Chandra Pant was born at Kunkoli, a small village in Ranikhet in the undivided Uttar Pradesh (presently in Uttarakhand) in a family with limited financial means. His early schooling was at the local village school, after which he graduated in science (BSc) from Kumaon University in 1974, and continued his studies at King George's Medical University (KGMU) from where he obtained his MBBS in 1979 and MD in 1985. His career started as a member of faculty at his alma mater, but moved to Tokyo in 1986 for advanced training in CT Scan at the University of Tokyo. Returning to India, he joined KGMU and established a CT Scan unit at the institution, the first such unit in the public sector in the state. He became the director of the Department of Radiotherapy at KGMU in 2007 and held the post till 2010. In September 2010, he moved to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, as its director, where he worked for three years till September 2013. Thereafter, he was associated with the establishment of H.N.B. Uttarakhand Medical Education University at Dehradun and when institution became operational in 2014, he was appointed as its founding vice chancellor. Returning to KGMU, he served as the dean and head of the Radiotherapy Department at the institution. Pant was married to Nirmala Pant, the director of Lucknow Cancer Institute, and the couple had a son and a daughter. == Legacy ==

Besides setting up the first CT Scan unit in the non-private sector in the state of Uttar Pradesh at KGMU in the Eighties, Pant's contribution is reported behind the founding of several institutions. The Cancer Indoor Ward, Out Patient Department (OPD–II), Microbiology Department, and High Dose Radioiodine ward were started functioning during his directorship. He was the organizer of a school-based cancer education project involving 297 teachers and around 60,000 students in 13 districts of the state and was also known to have delivered several keynote addresses and orations. He also contributed to the establishment of a Picture Gallery, covering the 100 years of history of the King George's Medical University, in connection with the centenary celebrations of the institution. == Awards and honours ==

Pant, who was listed among 20 Great Indians by India Today was a recipient of the P. K. Haldar Memorial Award (1990) and Hukum Chand Jain Memorial Award (2003). The Medical Council of India awarded him the highest Indian medical award of Dr. B. C. Roy Award in 2005. The Government of India included him the 2008 Republic Day honours list for the civilian honour of the Padma Shri. The same year, Kumaon University, his alma mater, awarded him the degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa). He was also a recipient of awards such as Professor K. B. Kunwar Memorial Award (1986, 88 and 89), Prasad Memorial Award of the Indian Radiology and Imaging Association (1987), International Cancer Technology Transfer Award of the Union for International Cancer Control (1993), Best Social Worker Award of the Lucknow chapter of the Rotary International (2001) and Dr. Birbal Sahni Award (2008). == References ==