Mukund Sadashiv Joshi (1942–2020)

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Professor Mukund S. Joshi was born on March 23, 1942, in a family of doctors. Seeing his father, one of India's eminent ENT surgeon, achieve excellence in his field and the significant contribution of the family to the society gave him the impetus to take up medicine as his career.

He completed his medical education from Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, and joined Tata Memorial Hospital as radiologist. He started his own private radiology practice along with hospital work in the early 1970s. He gave up general radiology practice after six or seven years, as he realized that it was not very challenging. With the desire and eagerness to learn new vistas in radiology, he travelled to Denmark and worked for a year with ultrasound pioneer Dr. Hans Henrik Holm at the Herlev Hospital in Copenhagen. The ultrasound modality was in its infancy during that period, as he described himself “For the first few months, when I looked at the screen, I was just looking at craters on the moon.”

Later Dr. Joshi underwent sonography training under the guidance of Dr. David Cosgrove at Royal Marsden Hospital, London (United Kingdom), who at that time was a pioneer of clinical ultrasonography. Subsequently, he also learned to interpret breast sonographic images at the Sydney Square Breast Centre in Australia. He was also trained in Doppler ultrasound at Thomas Jefferson University hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the University of California, San Francisco.

He returned to India and set up one of the most prestigious Department of Ultrasound at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai, and continued to be the head of this facility. He also worked as consultant at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and Professor and Head of the Department of Radiology at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) Hospital, Mumbai. After retirement, he continued as Emeritus Professor at LTMG Hospital, Mumbai.

He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Radiology and Imaging (IJRI). He has been a past President of the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA), Indian Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (IFUMB), and National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), India.

Dr. Joshi was honored with the Honorary Membership of Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in 2012, the second Indian in 100 years to receive an Honorary Membership of RSNA, and the first Indian to receive a Fellowship of American College of Radiology in May, 2013. He has received innumerable honors and awards for his contribution to Radiology and Ultrasonography in particular.

Dr. Joshi has written a number of articles in national and international radiology journals and has delivered more than 500 lectures and conducted CME Courses nationally and internationally.

Dr. Joshi was elected as Fellow of NAMS in 1999. He also served as NAMS Council Member, Member of various Committees, and as President from 2015 to 2018.

In addition to his commitments to patient care, teaching and research, Dr. Joshi has been active in administration and community outreach programs. He was a member of the Expert Group in the Planning Commission of India for supportive and diagnostic services at primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare levels (Ninth 5-Year Plan).

Dr. Joshi was very fond of music, particularly ghazals and Indian Classical songs. In one of the cultural programs of Annual Conference of National Academy of Medical Sciences (India) at Patna (NAMSCON 2015), he not only enjoyed the old melodies but also sung a few lines with the singers.

Words cannot convey the persona of Dr. Mukund Joshi. His commitment to education has won him great respect and admiration. He has been a source of inspiration to many in the radiological community and found a place in the hearts of a number of friends. He used to say, “God has been kind to me in giving me some very good friends.” He has left behind his wife Dr. Asha and a daughter.