Dr. Bhim Sen Singhal (also known as Dr. B. S. Singhal) is the Director of

Neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

at Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Early life and education

Singhal was born at

Mount Abu Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at above s ...

on 23 January 1933. After schooling at

and premedical studies at Maharaja's College in Jaipur, he studied medicine at the Grant Medical College and Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals in

. He obtained his MBBS degree in 1956 and MD in 1959. After his initial training in Neurology in

, he went abroad for further training at the

UCL Institute of Neurology The UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology is an institute within the Faculty of Brain Sciences of University College London (UCL) and is located in London, United Kingdom. Together with the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, an ...

, London. During his training in the United Kingdom, he obtained his MRCP (Edinburgh) in 1960 and MRCP (London) in 1961. He was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Edinburgh in 1973 and Fellow of the Royal College of London in 1985.

Professional life

On his return to India in 1962, Dr. B. S. Singhal joined the departments of Neurology at Grant Medical College and Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals and at Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences. He retired as Professor & Head of Neurology from Grant Medical College in 1991. Currently, he is Director of Neurology at Bombay Hospital. Over the course of his professional life, Dr. B. S. Singhal has helped to train over 200 neurologists who are now providing care across India. He has published over 200 scientific papers in both national and international books and journals. He is known for his interest and work in

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

and

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, dro ...

. With international collaboration and help from his colleagues, he discovered the entity of Megalencephalic Leukodystrophy with a specific gene defect prevalent in the Agarwal community. Throughout his entire career, Dr. B. S. Singhal has been actively promoting the cause of Neurology. He was President of the

Neurological Society of India The Neurological Society of India (NSI) is the apex body representing neuroscientists of the country. It was founded in 1951 by Jacob Chandy, Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi, S. T. Narasimhan, and Baldev Singh (neurologist), Baldev Singh, who together ...

(1986), President of the Indian Epilepsy Association (2000-2002), member of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

working group for

and

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, Regional Director for the

World Federation of Neurology World Federation of Neurology (WFN) was formed in Brussels, Belgium, in 1957, as an association of national neurological societies. It is a UK registered charity with a mission to foster quality neurology and brain health worldwide through promo ...

(2005-2009), and Chairperson of the Asian Section of The Movement Disorder Society (2009-2010). In order to update neurologists on recent advances in neurology, Dr. Singhal created the 'Neurology Foundation' in 1996, and holds 'Neurology Update' meetings every alternate year. Dr. Singhal established the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorder Society in 2001 which now has 19 support groups in

and also in

Nasik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Jalgaon Jalgaon () is a city in Maharashtra, India. The city is located in North Maharashtra, and serves as the administrative headquarters of its namesake district, the Jalgaon district. Jalgaon is colloquially known as the “''Banana City of India ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

, and

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, where he now serves as Honorary Secretary. This has been acknowledged as a model for developing countries by organizations like the World Parkinson's Congress and the World Federation of Neurology. Dr. Singhal has been honored nationally and internationally by having two orations instituted in his name. The first 'Singhal Oration' is delivered every alternate year at the annual meeting of the Indian Academy of Neurology. The second 'Singhal Oration' is delivered at the international conference of the

. In 2022, the Government of India recognized Dr. Singhal's years of service with the prestigious

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

award.

Awards

Dr. B.S. Singhal has received the following awards for his contributions to the field of Neurology. * 1983 - Karmayogi Puraskar Award * 1983 - Fellowship of the

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a nodal agency under the Government of India, which acts as an advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a ...

, * 1993 - Rajasthan Ratna Award * 1999 - Dr. B. C. Roy National Award * 2004 - Priyadarshini Academy National Award * 2005 - Wockhardt Award * 2006 - Lifetime Achievement Award of Madras Neuro Trust. * 2009 - Dhanvantari Award * 2013 - Rameshwardas Birla National Award * 2022 - Padma Shri National Award for services in the field of Medicine

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singhal, Bhim Living people 1933 births Indian neurologists Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences Dr. B. C. Roy Award winners Medical doctors from Rajasthan 20th-century Indian medical doctors