Speaker
Prof. Anand Kumar
Former Senior Professor & Head, AIIMS Reproductive Biology
Prof. Anand Kumar, MD, FAMS, is an eminent scholar, physician, author, and intellectual whose contributions span medicine, literature, philosophy, and Indian civilisational studies. He served as National Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, where he undertook advanced research and translation work on Malik Muhammad Jayasi's Padmawat, examining its literary, philosophical, and cultural significance.
Prof. Kumar had a distinguished academic career at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, where he was Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Reproductive Biology for seventeen years. His international engagements include a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Hamburg, a WHO Fellowship in Human Reproduction at the University of Bonn, and visiting professorships at the University of Hamburg and the University of Science Malaysia. A prolific researcher, he has authored more than 100 scientific papers, contributed to internationally recognised medical references, and edited the sections on reproduction in Best & Taylor's Physiological Basis of Medical Practice. His research in endocrinology, thyroid science, and human reproduction continues to be widely cited, and his books in andrology and reproductive science include a Springer publication recognised as a best-selling academic text.
Beyond medicine, Prof. Kumar is an accomplished English poet, novelist, short-story writer, and philosopher. From 2014 to 2023 he served as Director of Literary Festivals for the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature, New Delhi, contributing significantly to literary and cultural discourse across South Asia. His literary works include the poetry collections Opium Den (2011), Eerie and Holy (2014), and Reflections in the Windowpane (2018), alongside the short-story collection The Journey Times (2012). He also edited the anthology Poets' Travelogue: The Grand Indian Express. His life and work reflect a rare confluence of scientific excellence, literary creativity, and philosophical depth.