Dr. Chandra Sankurathri is a Memorial graduate who responded to the tragic loss of his wife, son and daughter in the 1985 Air India bombing by dedicating his life to help alleviate the suffering of others. He will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at Memorial University’s fall convocation on Oct. 19.

Dr. Sankurathri graduated in zoology from Andhra University, holds a M.Sc. in biology from Memorial and was awarded a PhD by the University of Alberta. He has worked as visiting scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and as a scientific evaluator with Health Canada. He currently heads two registered charities, Manjari Sankurathri Memorial Foundation in Canada and Sankurathri Foundation in India.

Dr. Sankurathri established the Manjari Sankurathri Memorial Foundation as a registered charity in Canada in 1989 and the Sankurathri Foundation in India in the same year. Within the Sankurathri Foundation, Dr. Sankurathri manages an eye hospital, Srikiran Institute of Ophthalmology, and the Sarada Vidyalayam High School. These charities provide free education to hundreds of rural children and have provided free eye care services to almost two million patients, including restoring eyesight to nearly 200,000 patients through free cataract surgeries.

He has been recognized with many awards for his charitable work, including the 2006 Outstanding Community Achievement Award of the India Canada Association, and was named a CNN hero by CNN International in 2008 — the first to be nominated from India.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Global Health Program of the Faculty of Medicine and the Division of Community Health and Humanities.