Chandigarh, October 7
Renowned hepatologist Dr YK Chawla today took over as Director of the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) had given its nod to Dr Chawla’s name earlier this week and a formal notification was issued by the Department of Personnel this morning.

Dr Chawla, who was heading the hepatology department, emerged as the consensus candidate due to his vast experience. He pipped the other two heavyweights — Dr Amod Gupta (HoD Ophthalmology, PGI) and Dr Raj Bahadur (Director Principal, GMCH-32) — to the post.

Talking to The Tribune soon after taking over, Dr Chawla said, “I was expecting my selection as my interview had gone rather well. But still the news came as a big surprise”.

Saying that his priority would be to give a fillip to organ transplantation, he said, “If all goes well, the PGI would soon go in for heart transplants.” He said his priorities would also include improving emergency care at the hospital.

Admitting that there was a lot of scope for improvement at the PGI, Dr Chawla said he would strive to provide the best possible healthcare to patients. “The PGI is a great institution and people expect a lot from us. I’ll strive to meet these expectations,” he said, adding that improving the working conditions for the staff, doctors and students will also be on his agenda.

Unlike his predecessor Dr KK Talwar, who came from AIIMS, Prof Chawla has spent 28 years at the PGI. A recipient of the Dr BC Roy Medical Council of India Silver Jubilee Research Award in 1999 for research in the field of hepatology, he joined the PGI as a lecturer in 1983 and went on to head the hepatology department in 1999.

He had earlier done super speciality in gastroenterology after his MBBS and MD from Jabalpur Medical College in 1969-78.

“You were first with the news and my phone hasn’t stopped ringing since early morning even though the orders came in the afternoon”, he said.