For the first time, an Odia academician, Prof Subas Chandra Parija, has taken over as the Director of the Jawaharlal Institute of Post-graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), the second top health institution in the country after the AIIMS.
Prof Parija, a native of Khuntala village in Jagatsinghpur district, has been an advisor to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organistaion (WHO). He has over 30 years of experience as teacher, researcher, advisor and visiting faculty at various research institutions in Nepal, Oman, Malaysia and Sri lanka.
After completing MBBS from the SCB Medical College in Cuttack, Prof Parija did his PG at BHU and later received DSc degree from the Madras University. He has 10 books on microbiology, parasitology and immunology to his credit. He has received Bidhan Chandra Ray and BPKISH International awards for his research work.