Prof. Ritu Lakhtakia, Professor of Pathology, graduated in Medicine, followed by clinical residency in Pathology from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, India. Her research in transgenic hepato-carcinogenesis during Ph.D at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, merited the President’s award of the Japanese Society of Hepatology. She sub-specialised in oncologic-pathology through fellowships at Tata Cancer Hospital, Mumbai, AIIMS and as a Fellow of the UICC at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. She has been an academic-clinician in her alma mater and in medical schools in King Faisal University, KSA and Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Oman; an anatomic pathologist in Oncology centres; and in administrative leadership capacities for over 25 years. She was Head of Pathology and Chair of the B.Sc Biomedical Sciences program at SQU. Her diagnostic expertise is in breast, soft tissue and bone tumors. Her research interests and publications span oncologic-pathology, cancer education and medical history. She is the founding Professor of Pathology at MBRU. She is the founding Chair of Student Assessment and Progression of the College of Medicine, MBRU from 2016-2021 and founding Academic lead for the Centre for Educational Assessment (CEA) at ieHPE She has been a supervisor for graduate and postgraduate research and served on the editorial board of several medical journals. She has a passion for student mentoring and counselling and is actively engaged with the community through cancer educational activities
Academic Appointments
Professor (Pathology)
Mohammed Bin Rashid University Of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, UAE
Assoc. Prof & Head of Department Pathology
College of Medicine & Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Professor (Pathology)
College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia
Professor (Pathology)
Army Hospital (R & R) Delhi, India
Professor (Pathology)
Command Hospital, Lucknow
Associate Professor
Armed Forces Medical College Pune, India
Associate Professor
Army Hospital, Research & Referral (R&R) Delhi, India
Reader/ Associate Professor
Armed Forces Medical College Pune, India
Demonstrator
Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) Pune, India
Professional Education
Ph.D (Pathology)
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
M.D (Pathology) (Specialisation in Anatomic pathology)
Armed Forces Medical College, Pune University, India
MBBS (Medical graduation)
Armed Forces Medical College, Pune University, India
Advanced Training in oncopathology
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
Fellowship in tumor pathology/Cytology
Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai
Fellow of the International Union Against Cancer (ICRETT fellowship, UICC, Geneva)
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
Teaching
- Strategic academic planning as member of task forces
- Academic leadership in curriculum and assessment policy and practice
- Organiser and facilitator of faculty development workshops in education.
- Medical, dental and allied health sciences graduate and postgraduate teaching
- Research supervision of graduate and postgraduate students
- Planning, training and assessment of histopathology residency training programs
- Undergraduate and postgraduate examiner for MBBS, MD, B.Sc MLS, M.Sc and Ph.D programs
- Student mentoring, advising, counselling
- Student workshops for laboratory-based and research skills through student scientific bodies
- Organising and conducting accredited training and workshops in pathology
- Invited guest lecturer and panelist in other institutions and at conferences
Honors and Awards
Community Engagement Award
Mohammed Bin Rashid Univesity of Medicine & Health Sciences Excellence Award
Mutairu Ezimokhai Teaching Excellence Award
Mohammed Bin Rashid Univesity of Medicine & Health Sciences Excellence Award
MBRU - AlMahmeed Collaborative Research Award
Annual Awards for clinicopathological conference presentations (SCRAPS) at Sultan Qaboos University five times in the years 2012-2016 as principal presenter/ co-presenter/student-mentor
President’s Award for Best paper at the 4th Japanese Society of Hepatology meeting 2001
Shimonoseki, Japan
Maj Gen Amir Chand Award 2000 for Best paper (first author)
Lt Gen R S Hoon Award 1995 for Best paper (co-author)
Publications
Membership of Professional Bodies and Associations
- Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists (IAPM)
- Indian Association of Pathologists and Microbiologists (IAPM)
- Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohaematology (ISBTI)
- Indian Academy of Cytologists (IAC)
- Union International Contre Cancer (UICC), Geneva
- Indian Society of Hospital Waste Management (ISHWM)
- International Academy of Pathology-Indian Division (IAP-ID)
- Armed Forces Oncology group
- Oman Breast Cancer Society
- Oman Pathology Society
Research Interests
- Histopathology – focussed applied clinical research in tumors of the breast, liver, soft tissue. Funded and unfunded collaborative research and supervision of postgraduate research.
- Medical education – addressing teaching methodology, assessment and innovative extracurricular pathways to interdisciplinary learning and mentoring
- Medical history – covering a range of historical perspectives from individual achievements to oncologic disease groups. A commentary on lessons from history of medicine was the unique perspective in these publications.
Clinical and Community Service
Clinical
- Strategic planning, Histopathology Laboratory administration and Quality control including EQA”s, peer reviews and audits as Clinical Head of Histopathology laboratories.
- Twenty-eight years’ experience in oncologic diagnostic anatomic pathology and cytology with special interest and focus on breast, lung, soft tissue and bone tumors with application of ancillary techniques of immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy in neoplastic and non-neoplastic pathology.
- Synoptic reporting with use of data sets.
- Intraoperative frozen consults and urgent reporting on One-stop Breast clinic FNAC’s.
- Running FNAC clinics independently.
- Establishing and moderating tumor boards and MDT’s.
- Reviewing referred biopsy material.
- Pathology autopsies.
Administrative
- Chair Student Assessment and Progression at CoM MBRU (2016-2021)
- Chair of academic and clinical departments of Pathology (Anatomic Pathology) and academic program (B.Sc MLS) at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
- Chair histopathology residency program examinations and research sub-committees, Oman Medical Speciality Board
- Member hospital and college committees and boards
- Member strategic task forces
Community
- Health talks and promotion activities
- School educational visits and career talks
- Organising scientific exhibitions, medical debates
- Cancer education promotion and breast cancer support groups
- Media publications on health issues
- Expert panelist in QS Excellence Roundtables and QS Rethink Tank addressing the impact of Covid-19 on education in 2020.
- Pulse Day events for school students at MBRU – created and conducted simulated patient journeys
- Facilitator of Virtual Open Days at MBRU during the Covid 19 pandemic