Women Power !

Priya Mendiratta, (Batch of 1987) with such amazing degrees MD,MPH,AGSF,CMD recently was invested as Distinguished Alexa T and William R Dillard Chair of Geriatrics, one of the highest award bestowed by the University of Arkansas,USA and was the first Indian origin woman at the university to receive it.

She received her medical degree from the University of Nagpur, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences. She later received a Master’s in Public Health degree from Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts. Her clinical training in the United States include, a Family Medicine residency and a 2-year Geriatrics fellowship at the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

She provides clinical care at the Thomas and Lyon Longevity Clinic and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at UAMS. She was promoted to the academic rank of full Professor recently at the College of Medicine, University if Arkansas for Medical sciences. She is also a Certified Medical Director in post-acute and long-term care medicine and is the medical director of two long-term care facilities in the Little Rock area.

She is the Clerkship and Geriatric Course Director for Geriatric medical student clerkship for UAMS medical students, a vice chair for education .

She had been involved directly in training over 1500 medical students, 200 residents in training and 40 geriatric fellows and over 500 other physician assistant, pharmacists and nurse practitioner students at the university.

She has successfully introduced many innovative approaches in teaching, which include interactive case modules in geriatrics, virtual reality, telemedicine, geriatric boot camp, and Interprofessional geriatric simulation. The novel patient education products developed by medical students with her guidance have found an audience in USA and other countries. She was also recognized nationally by the American Geriatric Society with the prestigious award of a Fellow of American Geriatric Society in 2013 given to only to very few individuals in a year . She is also the appointed state affiliate leader. by the American Geriatric Society.

She was elected to the UAMS Academic Senate as a College of Medicine representative in 2018 and serves as a member on multiple UAMS education committees and at a national level . She is the recipient of multiple awards for her role in resident and medical student education which includes best educator award for residents multiple times & American Indian physicians excellence in academic award. She is involved in educating multiple trainees in other developing countries and been contributing her energy and expertise to various diverse programs for underserved population globally including rural India, leprosy mission to seed programs . She has been featured in the Best doctors in America and Arkansas list, including Arkansas times, a peer nominated award, every year over the past decade. She has also published clinical research in various peer reviewed journals and had been funded both with extra mural and intramural mural grants .

Priya is married to Dr Parthak Prodhan,a Professor in Medicine and has three children Pallavi Prodhan who is a high school senior and Twins Pia and Pranav Prodhan who are in elementary school and are current tennis champions for the state for under 9.

She contributed her success to a strong foundation starting from school and is truly grateful to her teachers for helping her reach this place in her life.

Kudos !