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Memorable, Monumental Deepak Kamat :

September 28, 2017

Our lives consist of a series of moments. Small events of busy days can pass into seeming insignificance.  Some moments, however, are memorable, and some moments turn out to be monumental.

Deepak Kamat, MD, PhD, FAAP, retired June 30 from his position as PIR’s Index of Suspicion associate editor after serving from 2008-2017.Deepak Kamat, MD, PhD, FAAP, retired June 30 from his position as PIR’s Index of Suspicion associate editor after serving from 2008-2017.Our lives consist of a series of moments. Small events of busy days can pass into seeming insignificance.  Some moments, however, are memorable, and some moments turn out to be monumental. The moment I met Deepak Kamat was indeed memorable and monumental.

We met in a fairly routine way, as we were scheduled for a standard professional conversation.  Quickly, though, connections went deep as we realized we shared passion for global child health and for pediatric education.

Even as our job responsibilities and geographic locations changed, Deepak and I managed to serve together on editorial boards, meet at national meetings, and then get more serious about collaborative efforts.  I was able to join Deepak in editing the AAP’s Textbook of Global Child Health, and then recently was able to try to follow in his footsteps as the Pediatrics in Review associate editor for Index of Suspicion.

Of course, Deepak’s memorable and monumental influence has been extended much more widely than just to me, and it reaches far beyond our national borders. 

Deepak did medical, oncology, hematology, and pathology training in India while picking up a medical degree, a diploma in child health, and then a PhD.  He then “started over” with a pediatric residency and an immunology/transplant fellowship at the University of Minnesota.  A full professor since 2002, he held faculty positions in Minnesota and West Virginia before settling in at Wayne State University a decade and a half ago, and he has served there as an awarded educator, astute clinician, and department leader. 

Deepak’s influences reach far, and much of that influence has been ingrained in the activities of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  In 2010, he received the AAP Education Award.  He has written and edited five books for the AAP, and both the Textbook of Global Child Health and the Textbook of Pediatric Care have gone into successful second editions.  He has served on six editorial boards, including the Pediatrics in Review editorial board, and has mentored literally hundreds of trainees and junior faculty members on academic writing projects. 

Deepak shares his extensive knowledge – through more than 125 peer-reviewed papers, dozens of chapters, and scores of other educational publications.  The memorable and monumental influence of Deepak Kamat has been spread throughout the world and integrated into the hearts and minds of the generations following him.

Fortunately for us and for the rest of the world and its children, Deepak is not currently planning either to die or to retire.  As he mentions in his September PIR commentary, he is merely transitioning away from his associate editor role at Pediatrics in Review as he focuses on other educational activities. 

The moments of his life will continue to favorably impact many as he provides memories and monumental mentorship for pediatricians and pediatric trainees all over the planet. 

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