National Honor for Neurologist Dr. Lekha Pandit of KS Hegde Medical Academy
Dr. Lekha Pandit, Professor of Neurology & Director, Center for Advanced Neurological Science at KS Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University) has been awarded the prestigious fellowship of the National Academy of Science India (NASI), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.
Since its inception in 1930, NASI has selected nearly 2000 Fellows from various fields of science for their path-breaking research in Science & Technology and for furthering societal education in science.
Dr. Lekha Pandit is a clinician and basic science researcher whose three-decade-long work on demyelinating disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis and Neuromyelitis Optica, has remarkably improved the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of these severe diseases in India.
Further, she has through her pioneering work shown the increasing prevalence of these diseases among Indians, determined the genetic and environmental factors related, and developed and patented the first diagnostic assay for these conditions in India.
At KS Hegde Hospital in Mangaluru, she runs one of the largest registries for these diseases in the Indian subcontinent visited by patients from different parts of India and abroad. Dr. Lekha Pandit is one among 150 Indian women scientists and the first from Dakshina Kannada to have been bestowed this national honor.
Nitte (Deemed to be University), established in 2008, has emerged as a University that stands for quality and values. With the recognition of its first off-campus centre at Nitte, Karkala, it has become a multi-disciplinary University with nearly six thousand students. In 2022, it was ranked 75th among Indian Universities by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
Nitte has been accredited with an A+ Grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of India (NAAC). It is in the Rank Band of 401-450 in the QS World Universities Rankings – Asia. Its sustainable development initiatives have been recognized by its position in the world’s Top 300 Universities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.