Leadership
Spotlight (Week 4)
Weekly an
Asian team member serving in a leadership (i.e., central or academic
administration) capacity for the Health Science Center will be
recognized.
Week 1 -
Chanchai Singhanayok McDonald, PhD
Week 2 -
Mukta Panda, MD, FACP
Week 3 - Ken Sakauye, MD
Week 4 - Syamal K. Bhattacharya, PhD
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Activities Page
Week 4
Leadership Spotlight
Syamal K.
Bhattacharya, PhD
Dr. Bhattarcharya has been an active member of the Health Science
Center’s Faculty Senate since 1994 serving on various committees such as chair
of the Faculty Affairs Committee deliberating on faculty evaluation, promotion
and tenure (1999-2002 and 2003-2006) and being a member of the College of
Medicine academic promotion and tenure committee (2004-2007). Presently, he is
a member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee representing Clinical
Sciences.
He received his B.Sc. Honors degree in chemistry from the
University of Calcutta, M.S. in physical chemistry from Murray State University,
A.M. in nuclear chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis, and Ph.D. in
bioanalytical chemistry from the University of Memphis, with a focus on atomic
spectroscopy in medicine. Dr. Bhattacharya has spent sabbaticals as a Visiting
Scholar in Neonatology at Washington University School of Medicine (1976-77),
Visiting Scholar in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Yale in 1985, Visiting Professor
of Physiology at UCLA in 1986, Visiting Professor of Pediatric Surgery at the
Johns Hopkins in 1987, and Visiting Professor of Microbiology at the Bose
Institute, Calcutta, in 1999 and 2001.
Dr. Bhattacharya is a tenured Professor of Surgery, holds joint
appointments as a Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular), Professor of Neurology
(Neuromuscular), and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and has been the
Founding Director of the Chemistry and Nutrient Data Output (CAN-DO) Laboratory
since 1982, and Director of the Surgical Research Laboratories (1982-2003), at
the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). He is also an
Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Memphis, and
served as an Adjunct Professor of Surgery (1988-98) at New York Medical College,
Associate Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology (1988-97) at the UTHSC, and R & D
Chemist in Bombay (1970-74).
Moreover, he has trained and mentored more than 70 graduate and
medical students, pre- and post-doctoral research fellows, and junior faculty
members; many of his trainees have distinguished themselves as being outstanding
physicians/scientists and by attaining full professorship.
During the
Office of Equity and Diversity interview we learned the following:
Q.
How long
have you been employed with the Health Science Center?
A.
I have been an employee with the Health Science Center since
May 1, 1979.
Q:
What kind of music do you like and do you have a favorite
singer/musician or song?
A. Indian
classical music and Bengali songs composed by Noble Laureate in literature,
Rabindranath Tagore. One of my favorite musicians of all time is Ravi Shankar.
Q.
Have you ever attended the Mid-South Fair, and if so what junk food
items do you tend to consume most often at the fair?
A.
Yes, indeed. I went there once with our three kids in 1984
when they were between 5 and 12, and remember enjoying corn dogs and cotton
candy with them.
Q: Are you a Wal-Mart shopper, and if so what do
you like most about shopping at Wal-Mart?
A: Yes, sometimes. Reasonable prices for everyday
things, and above all their customer friendly employees and environment.
Q: What was the last book you read (fiction or
non-fiction)?
A: The last books I read were Mother Theresa’s
short titles like “The Joy in Loving”, “One Heart Full of Love” and
“Meditations from A Simple Path”.
Q:Do you have a favorite dessert, and if so what
is it?
A: Mango ice-cream and a traditional Bengali sweet called
“Rashogollas”, especially those made by my wife.
Q: What are some of your hobbies?
A: Gardening, spending time with my family,
and visiting our grown-up children and grandchild.
Q: Have you visited Graceland (i.e., Elvis
Presley’s home), and do you have favorite Elvis Presley movie or song?
A: Yes, his Gospel music and songs.
Q: What do you like most about working at UT
Health Science Center, and working in higher education?
A: It is Privilege to work with the highly gifted
and talented faculty, trainees, and students over the last three decades,
with such a wide array of diverse background, culture, ethnicity and
religion. It brings deep joy to witness how our campus has come to embrace
the diaspora of multiculturalism and readily accept each others’ diversity
as an opportunity to learn and forgather creating something by far more
worthwhile than any one of us can individually.
Q: Do you have a most preferred vacation spot in
the United States, and if so what is the location and why is it significant?
A: Seaside Beach Community in Florida where our children
love to vacation and the youngest son, Dave got married.
