Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them…

Dr. Dheeraj Gupta

(From 19^th October, 1961 to 22^th February, 2015)

Prof. Dheeraj Gupta was born on October 19, 1961. He completed his primary education from Chandigarh and then joined medical school in 1979. He completed his medical graduation from Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi in 1984. He then completed his residency in internal medicine at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh in 1986. Subsequently, he accomplished his fellowship in pulmonary medicine at the same institute in 1991. He joined as assistant professor in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at PGIMER, Chandigarh in 1991 and rose to the post of Professor in 2008.

During this period, he made significant contributions in the academic field. He was a dedicated teacher and has guided about 85 students in MD, DM and PhD dissertations and thesis. He has about 325 research papers to his credit. His research work has been cited more than 5000 times and he had an h-index of 38 (http://scholar.google.com/citations?user = 9-Na6RQAAAAJ and hl = en). Passionate about his research, his primary research interest was in the field of sarcoidosis, specifically the association of sarcoidosis with mycobacteria.

Dr. Dheeraj was a compassionate physician, extremely concerned for patients. He would go out of the way to help patients, ensuring that they are treated in the best possible manner. He used to become very emotional whenever expensive treatments, which could not be afforded routinely by his patients, became available. I remember that when endobronchial ultrasonography-transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) was gaining popularity, he felt that conventional TBNA along with endobronchial and transbronchial lung biopsy would be equally effective in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. He conceptualized this research study, which was subsequently published in the journal chest.[1] I would consider this as a practice-changing research, immediately applicable for a country such as ours.

Above all, he was a wonderful human being. He was my teacher then senior colleague and subsequently my mentor, friend and family. In January 2014, when he was diagnosed with the devastating corpus callosum glioblastoma multiforme, we were all very scared. However, the way he dealt with his illness was remarkable. He proved to be a pillar of strength to his caregivers even during the most difficult times. Despite his illness, his zeal for learning continued and despite opposition from all of us, he participated in the Annual American Association of Sarcoidosis and other granulomatous lung disease meeting held at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, USA in September 2014. He continued to be involved in research despite all odds. In fact, one of his papers was published in the reputed journal PLoS One, a day before his demise.

He has also made substantial contributions toward the academic growth of the Indian Chest Society (ICS). He was part of the ICS leadership for several years, and was in-charge of the credentials committee of the ICS. In this capacity, he framed criteria, which made sure that only outstanding professionals are recognized as fellows of the society. It was his vision that patients should get the best treatment in India, wherever they are. To fulfill this aim, he was instrumental in getting our two national societies to come together and frame national guidelines for management of common diseases such as pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma.[2,3,4]

He managed to combine all his departmental and research activities with a strong and devoted commitment to his family. He was immensely proud of the achievements of his wife Poonam Goel and sons, Archit and Arnav.

Although Dr. Dheeraj is no more with us, the department, and I will forever cherish his memories. His untimely demise has left a void that would be very difficult to fill for all times to come.

May his soul rest in peace.