Career
He secured the master"s degree of Doctor of Medicine from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, worked at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow and, later, at Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi before joining Medanta. Doctor Mithal has made pioneering contribution to the development of the speciality of endocrinology in India in all its aspectsacademic, clinical and socialand has played a key role in placing Indian endocrinology on the global map. While at AIIMSin the mid 1980she assisted in studies related to iodine deficiency, which paved the way for the universal salt iodation program in India.
Later, at SGPGIMS, he carried out seminal research on fluoride toxicity in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, which affects more than 60 million people in India.
He was subsequently awarded the prestigious Fogarty fellowship to conduct research at Harvard Medical School (1993-1994). In 1997, Doctor Mithal established India’s first bone density measurement system and osteoporosis service in SGPGIMS Lucknow.
He was the first Indian to be trained in bone density measurement, as a Japan International Cooperation Agency fellow, in Japan. Doctor Mithal was the first to establish osteoporosis as a serious health problem in India that affects an estimated 50 million people, and among the first to establish the existence of widespread vitamin Doctorate deficiency in India.
Presently he is leading the initiative to fortify edible oil and milk with vitamin Doctorate to help tackle this epidemic, which affects more than 80 percent urban Indians.
Doctor Mithal was the technical advisor for the World Diabetes Foundation/ Jagran Pehel initiative on diabetes and pregnancy (15 percent of Indian women develop diabetes in pregnancy). He is also leading a nutrition and growth program for underprivileged children in two Uttar Pradesh schools. Doctor Mithal is the first Indian to serve on international bodies like the World Health Organization Global Task force on Osteoporosis and Committee of Scientific Advisors, Asia Pacific Advisory Council and Board of Governance of the International Osteoporosis Foundation.
In addition Doctor Mithal has been President of the Endocrine Society of India, Indian Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ISBMR), and Bone and Joint Decade.
