We are all saddened by the passing away of Dr. Vijay V. Joshi. Born in Pune, on March 10th, 1936, Dr. Joshi lived a very productive life, teaching pediatric pathology well into his mid-eighties and beyond. An erudite scholar, his books: Pathology of AIDS and other Manifestations of HIV Infection, Common problems in Pediatric Pathology and Handbook of Placental Pathology were very timely and popular. His passing away was mourned not only in the USA and Canada, but also in India, where he had taught at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Chandigarh, and Seth G. S. Medical College in Mumbai from 1975-1980.
Dr. Vijay Joshi completed his M.B.B.S from B. J. Medical College, Pune in 1959, and M.D. in Pathology from Sir J. J. Hospital and Grant Medical College, Mumbai, in 1962. His zeal and academic rigor led him to pursue further training in the US, where he was a resident alongside the late Dr. Arun Chitale at the Medical College of Virginia from 1965-1968. Ahead of his times, he also completed his Ph.D. from Western Ontario University, Canada, in 1970. His scientific approach, honed by his Ph.D. training, led to in-depth analysis of neuroblastomas, pediatric AIDS, and perinatal and placental pathology. In Canada, he was fortunate to have crossed paths with Daria Haust, the “Grand Lady of Pediatric Pathology,” who recommended Dr. Joshi for a position at Montreal Children’s Hospital. It was at this point, that Dr. Vijay Joshi began his career as a Pediatric Pathologist, and like Dr. Haust worked to promote the specialty of Pediatric Pathology worldwide. Like Daria Haust, who continued to serve as an adjunct at the Queen’s Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine until she passed away at the age of 100, on Jan 11, 2022, Dr. Joshi too, continued as an Affiliate Clinical Professor of Pathology at Medical College of Virginia, and a Consultant at Hartford Hospital until his terminal illness took over at age 86.
The promotion of Pediatric Pathology as a recognized subspeciality in India was a lifelong pursuit. After five years of experience in pediatric pathology and clinicopathologic research in North America, Dr. Vijay Joshi felt he had enough experience to start promoting the specialty in India and returned to India with that in mind in 1975. However, the time was not right, and he found himself signing out general surgical pathology cases and realized opportunities for clinicopathologic research were few. He returned to the US in 1980, but his dream to promote the specialty of “Pediatric Pathology in India” remained as vibrant as ever. He continued to give lectures and organize workshops and mini-CME courses once or twice a year in medical centers in India, so that pathologists in India could learn about pediatric pathology and serve India’s 400 million children. In 1990, he collaborated with Anand Pandit, a researcher in pediatrics and Dr. Avinash Pradhan, a pathologist on two research projects in Neonatology and Indian childhood cirrhosis. As an extension of that collaboration, Dr. Vijay Joshi along with Ashok Patwardhan, successfully obtained a US $1.5 million grant (spread over 5 years from 1996 to 2001) to upgrade the departments of Pediatrics, Pediatric Pathology, Obstetrics and Radiology at Pune’s KEM research Institute.
A chance meeting with the late Dr. S. J. Nagolatimath in Madrid in 1990, led to the start of an annual International CME in 1991. Subsequently in 1996, this annual CME was named as AIPNA-ICP international CME; a joint venture of Organization of Indian College of Pathologist and the Association of Indian Pathologists of North America (AIPNA). This collaboration that has continued uninterrupted for 28 years (virtually through the Covid pandemic), brings together US, Canadian and Indian pathologists to enhance and further pathology education. This would not have happened without the far-sighted vision of Dr. Vijay Joshi. As the US coordinator of the annual AIPNA-ICP International CME (1996 through 2001), Dr. Joshi made it a point to include pediatric pathology topics and spread knowledge about pediatric pathology. The initiation of the pediatric pathology fellowship program at St. John’s Medical Center in Bengaluru, India was another feather in his cap as was the start of the annual International CME course in Pediatric Pathology starting in 2016. Finally in 2020, Dr. Vijay Joshi realized his dream of “establishing pediatric pathology as a recognized sub-specialty in India”, when along with Dr. Ranganathan, Dr. Usha Kini, Dr. Nandita Kakkar, Dr. Anita Gupta, and many others the “Association of Pediatric Pathologists in India (APPI)” was officially instituted.
Dr. Vijay Joshi authored 150 articles in peer reviewed journals, was an active member of the Pediatric AIDS Lymphoma Network, and was appointed Chairman of the Pediatric Oncology Group’s Neuroblastoma Pathology Committee. Dr. Vijay Joshi co-chaired the International Neuroblastoma Committee, and was responsible for a new, prognostically significant classification of peripheral neuroblastic tumors. A true renaissance man, Dr. Vijay Joshi co-authored with his wife Jayashree, three Marathi books on Major Ideas of Western Civilization. Dr. Vijay Joshi remained healthy and active into his eighties and credited his good health to regular brisk walks, eating moderately, reading, and meditation by listening to Indian classical music.
Born in British India and pre-independence, Dr. Joshi had a deep and abiding love for his mother land-India. In 1962, during the Indo-China war, disputing the sovereignty of the widely separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh regions, defense forces lacked doctors and the central government appealed to all state governments to recruit young medical graduates and postgraduates for service. Dr. Vijay Joshi and Dr. U. L. Wagholikar, of Grant Medical College, Mumbai responded to the appeal and joined as civilian doctors and were posted along the Tejpur Border in Assam for nearly two and a half years (1962-65).
Dr. Joshi believed fervently that those of us who live comfortable lives should strive to improve the lot of those who suffer, and those who live in poverty. He believed that one should look beyond one’s immediate close family and treat the whole world as “our” family. A dedicated physician-scientist, educator, mentor, and great role model, Dr. Vijay Joshi will continue to inspire the next generation of pathologists.
Megha G. Joshi, M.D., FCAP
Senior Staff Pathologist, Winchester Hospital,
Medical Director, FMC & WIUC Laboratories,
Beth-Israel-Lahey Health, MA, USA
Chair, Massachusetts Delegation of Pathologists, CAP
Executive Committee, Massachusetts Society of Pathologists
Vice President/President Elect, AIPNA
Dr. D. N. Lanjewar, M. D.
Formerly Professor & Head Pathology,
Grant Government Medical College, Mumbai
Professor and Head of Pathology,
Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences,
Bhuj, Gujarat, India
