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{{Short description|Indian neurosurgeon}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Jacob Chandy
|image = Dr. Jacob Chandy (1960).jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Dr. Jacob Chandy in 1960
|birth_date = 23 January 1910
|birth_place = India
|death_date = {{death date and age|2007|6|23|1910|1|23|df=y}}
|occupation = [[Neurosurgeon]], professor
|spouse = Accamma
|children = Mathew Jacob, Varghese Jacob, Accamma
|awards = [[Padmabhushan]]<br>[[Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital|MNI]] Fellow<br>Medal of Honour by the World Congress of Neurological Surgeons<br>Professor Emiratus of the [[Government of Kerala]]
}}
'''Jacob Chandy''' (23 January 1910 – 23 June 2007){{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} was an Indian [[neurosurgeon]] and teacher of medical sciences. As the first neurosurgeon in India,<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute">{{Cite web |url=http://www.mni.mcgill.ca/media/stories/sept_2007_chandy/ |title=Montreal Neuro Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006112656/http://www.mni.mcgill.ca/media/stories/sept_2007_chandy/ |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=18 July 2014}}</ref> he is widely regarded as the father of modern neurosurgery in India.<ref name="CMC">{{cite web | url=http://www.cmch-vellore.edu/pdf/jacob.pdf | title=CMC | access-date=18 July 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084748/http://www.cmch-vellore.edu/pdf/jacob.pdf | archive-date=6 October 2014 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="National Medical Journal of India">{{cite web|url=http://nmji.in/archives/Volume_20/Number_4/Obituaries/Obituaries_Jacob.htm |title=National Medical Journal of India |access-date=18 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503103429/http://www.nmji.in/archives/Volume_20/Number_4/Obituaries/Obituaries_Jacob.htm |archive-date= 3 May 2008 }}</ref> In 1964, the Government of India honoured him with their third highest civilian award, [[Padmabhushan]], for his services in the fields of [[neurosurgery]] and [[medical education]].<ref name="National Medical Journal of India" />

==Biography==
{{quotebox|align = left|width=24em|"To free your teachers to teach", [[Alan Gregg (medical doctor)|Alan Gregg]], the renowned medical educationist<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /><ref name="Gregg">{{cite web | url=https://www.profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/fs | title=Alan Gregg | access-date=19 July 2014}}</ref> advised Jacob Chandy, "to free your students to learn, to create opportunities for your researchers to solve the medical problems of India, and above all to consider the needs of the near and oncoming future"<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" />}}
[[File:Dr. Jacob Chandy with Indira Gandhi (1958).jpg|thumb|Dr. Jacob Chandy with Indira Gandhi (later Prime Minister of India), on her visit to C.M.C, Vellore, in 1958]]
Jacob Chandy was born on 23 January 1910, in [[Kottayam]], in the south Indian state of [[Kerala]] to an [[Saint Thomas Anglicans|Anglican Syrian Christian]] family.<ref name="Bio 1" /> After his early education in Kottayam, he secured his graduate degree, an MBBS in medicine, from [[Madras Medical College]] in 1936. He kickstarted his career in 1939 by joining the Mission Hospital in [[Bahrain]], a missionary hospital run by the [[American Reformed Church]], where he stayed until 1944, when he took a hiatus from his practice to complete his MD at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]; while there he learned surgery under the guidance of Jonathan Rhoads.<ref name="Rhoades">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/08/us/jonathan-rhoads-94-medical-innovator-dies.html | title=Rhoads | work=The New York Times | date=8 February 2002 | access-date=19 July 2014 | last1=Saxon | first1=Wolfgang }}</ref> In 1945, he received a fellowship from the [[Montreal Neurological Institute]] (MNI) and continued to practice surgery till 1948.<ref name="Bio 1" /><ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons">{{cite web | url=http://neurosurgery.org/society/bio.aspx?MemberID=14638 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20140726163048/http://neurosurgery.org/society/bio.aspx?MemberID=14638 | url-status=dead | archive-date=26 July 2014 | title=Society of Neuro surgeons | access-date=18 July 2014 }}</ref>

After obtaining a fellowship from the [[Royal College of Surgeons of Canada|Royal College of Surgeons, Canada]] (FRCS), also in 1948, Chandy moved to Chicago to take up duties as the chief resident at the [[University of Chicago]]. It was during this time that Chandy was invited by Robert Greenhill Cochrane, medical missionary and [[Leprology|Leprologist]],<ref name="Cochrane">{{cite web | url=http://www.leprosyhistory.org/cgi-bin/showdetails.pl?ID=4&type=person | title=Cochrane | access-date=19 July 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613162458/http://www.leprosyhistory.org/cgi-bin/showdetails.pl?ID=4&type=person | archive-date=13 June 2011 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> to join the [[Christian Medical College, Vellore]] (CMC), a fledgling medical college at that time.<ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons" />

Chandy started the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at CMC, the first of its kind in the country,<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /> in 1949. Eight years later, in 1958, CMC started the first training program in India for neurosurgery, followed by a program in neurology in 1962, under Chandy's guidance. Over the years, Chandy helped develop the neurology program into one of the most sought after courses in India.<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /><ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons" /><ref name="Neuro course">{{cite web | url=https://www.srcf.ucam.org/cns/Docs/Michael.pdf | title=Neuro course | access-date=19 July 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808115101/https://www.srcf.ucam.org/cns/Docs/Michael.pdf | archive-date=8 August 2014 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> During his association with CMC, Chandy held various posts such as the professor of neurology and neurosurgery and the medical superintendent; he was the principal when he retired in 1970.<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /><ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons" /><ref name="US National Library of Medicine">{{cite journal | title= Jacob Chandy: pioneering neurosurgeon of India| pmid=20647965 | doi=10.1227/01.NEU.0000374769.83712.E1 | volume=67 | journal=Neurosurgery | pages=567-75; discussion 575-6 | last1 = Abraham | first1 = J | last2 = Mathai | first2 = KV | last3 = Rajshekhar | first3 = V | last4 = Narayan | first4 = RK| year=2010 | issue=3 }}</ref>

Chandy died on 23 June 2007, leaving behind his wife, Accamma, a daughter, also named Accamma, and two sons, Mathew and Varghese, the former a neurosurgeon and MNI fellow, and the latter, a chemical engineer.<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /><ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons" />

==Legacy==
Chandy's legacy lives through the numerous practitioners of neurosurgery who have contributed their services to the development of neurosurgery in India.<ref name="Bio 1">{{cite web | url=http://www.pubfacts.com/detail/20647965/Jacob-Chandy:-pioneering-neurosurgeon-of-India. | title=Bio 1 | access-date=18 July 2014}}</ref> He assisted many medical practitioners to get advanced training at the Montreal Neurological Institute, such as J. C. Jacob and G. M. Taori in neurology, Sushil Chandi in neuropathology, and Elizabeth Mammen and S. Sarojini in neurosurgical nursing.<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /> He was instrumental in promoting the biochemist, [[Bimal Kumar Bachhawat]],<ref name="Bachawat 2">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/jbiosci/11/1-6.pdf | title=Bachawat 2 | access-date=19 July 2014}}</ref><ref name="Bachawat 1">{{cite web | url=https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=16896 | title=Bachawat 1 | access-date=19 July 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728124130/https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=16896 | archive-date=28 July 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref> who founded the neurochemistry laboratory, which identified the [[enzymopathy]] of metachromatic [[leucodystrophy]], in collaboration with [[James H. Austin]].<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" />

Chandy was the first of the first generation of neurologists, neurosurgeons and neuroscientists.<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /><ref name="Neurology India">{{cite web | url=http://www.neurologyindia.com/article.asp?issn=0028-3886;year=2007;volume=55;issue=3;spage=315;epage=316;aulast=Mathai | title=Neurology India | access-date=18 July 2014}}</ref> He founded the [[Neurological Society of India]] in 1951, along with [[B. Ramamurthi]], [[Baldev Singh (neurologist)|Baldev Singh]] and [[S. T. Narasimhan]].<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /><ref name="Neurological Society of India (NSI)">{{cite web|url=http://www.nmji.in/archives/Volume-26/Issue-6/10-26-6-Corres-(12-7-14).pdf |title=Neurological Society of India (NSI) |access-date=18 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811080451/http://www.nmji.in/archives/Volume-26/Issue-6/10-26-6-Corres-%2812-7-14%29.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2014 }}</ref> He was the first surgeon in India to perform an [[epilepsy]] surgery on 25 August 1952, on a patient suffering from right infantile [[hemiplegia]] and medially refractory seizures.<ref name="First epilepsy surgery">{{cite web | url=http://www.bioline.org.br/request?ni09003 | title=First epilepsy surgery | access-date=18 July 2014}}</ref>

==Awards and recognitions==
Chandy was honoured by several institutions, organisations, and governmental bodies during his career.
* Professor emeritus of the [[Government of Kerala]] – 1970<ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons" />
* [[Padmabhushan]] – 1964<ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons" />
* Medal of Honour by the World Congress of Neurological Surgeons – 1989<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" /><ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons" />
* Founder and president of the Neurological Society of India<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" />
* Member – Medical Education Committee of the Ministry of Health, the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences]]<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" />
* Member – Medical Education Committee of the [[Indian Council of Medical Research]]<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" />
* [[Montreal Neurological Institute]] (MNI) Fellow<ref name="Montreal Neuro Institute" />
* He was also the founding member of many neurology related societies in India.<ref name="Society of Neuro surgeons" />

==Autobiography==
After his retirement from active practice, Chandy wrote his autobiography in 1988, titled ''Reminiscences and Reflections'', with several anecdotes from his professional and personal life.<ref name="Autobiography">{{cite book | url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reminiscences-reflections-Memoirs-Jacob-Chandy/dp/B0007C9840 | title=Reminiscences and Reflections | publisher=CMD Press | author=Chandy, Jacob | year=1998 | location=Kerala | asin=B0007C9840}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| url = https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reminiscences-reflections-Memoirs-Jacob-Chandy/dp/B0007C9840
| title = Reminiscences and Reflections
| author = Jacob Chandy
| year = 1988
| publisher = CMS Press
| asin = B0007C9840
}}
* {{cite book
| url = http://www.bioline.org.br/request?ni07099
| title = Neurology India
| author = Mathai M.V.
| year = 2007
| publisher = Medknow Publications on behalf of the Neurological Society of India
| issn = 0028-3886
}}

==External links==
* [http://www.kottayammedicalcollege.org/department_more.php?flcou=1&dptnm=Neuro%20Surgery Reference on Kottayam Medical College site]
* [http://talent-kerala.net/previous/2003/jun/27.htm Interview]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140923191203/http://drakabraham.com/curriculum.html Reference by Dr.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080503103429/http://www.nmji.in/archives/Volume_20/Number_4/Obituaries/Obituaries_Jacob.htm Obituary on National Medical Journal of India]
* [http://www.neurologyindia.com/article.asp?issn=0028-3886;year=2007;volume=55;issue=3;spage=315;epage=316;aulast=Mathai Neurology India]
* [http://www.cwwiebemedical.ca/medicalprofessionals/jacob-chandy/ Profile on CWWIEB] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728014403/http://www.cwwiebemedical.ca/medicalprofessionals/jacob-chandy/ |date=28 July 2014 }}
* [https://archive.today/20140726163048/http://neurosurgery.org/society/bio.aspx?MemberID=14638 on Neurosurgery.org]

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1960–69}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}
{{Health in India}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandy, Jacob}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian neurosurgeons]]
[[Category:Scientists from Kottayam]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine]]
[[Category:Madras Medical College alumni]]
[[Category:CMS College Kottayam alumni]]
[[Category:Medical doctors from Kerala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian surgeons]]

Jacob Chandy - Revision history

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