{{Short description|Indian American neuroanatomist (1932–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Use Indian English|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox person | image = Deepak Pandya.jpg | birth_name = Deepak Narmadashankar Pandya | birth_date = {{birthdate|1932|12|06|df=y}} | birth_place = Jhulasan, then in Baroda State, India | alma_mater = B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad<br/>Gujarat University | death_date = {{deathdateandage|2020|10|04|1932|12|06|df=y}} | death_place = Venice, Florida, US | occupation = Neuroanatomist | spouse = Ursuline Zalokar | children = 3, including Sunita }} '''Deepak Narmadashankar Pandya'''{{efn|{{langx|gu|Dīpaka Narmadāśaṅkara Paṇḍyā}}}} (6 December 1932 – 4 October 2020<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/deepak-pandya-obituary?pid=196979268|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627101143/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/deepak-pandya-obituary?pid=196979268|archive-date=27 June 2021 |title=MOHAN YADAV Obituary (2020) - Needham, MA - Boston Globe|publisher=legacy.com |access-date=27 June 2021}}</ref>) was an Indian American neuroanatomist who is best known for his contributions to the understanding of cortical and subcortical brain connectivity in the macaque using tract-tracing methods. He is the father of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams.
==Early life and career== Deepak Narmadashankar Pandya was born on 6 December 1932, in Jhulasan, then part of Baroda State, in India. He was orphaned and completed his I.S. in 1953 from Gujarat University. After obtaining his M.D. degree from Gujarat University in 1957 (and interning in V.S. Hospital in Junagadh till 1958), he went to the United States and did his internship and residency training in Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.{{citation needed|date=January 2026}}
In 1964, Pandya joined the Department of Anatomy at Case Western Reserve University, as a postdoctoral fellow. He moved to Boston in 1966 and joined the Aphasia Research Center at the Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center, and the Departments of Anatomy and Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor. During his postdoctoral fellowship and subsequent period in Boston, Pandya focused his research investigations on cortico-cortical connections. In 1969 his laboratory moved to Boston City Hospital. During this time he was appointed a lecturer in Experimental Neuropathology at Harvard Medical School, and he participated in teaching the Neuroscience course at both schools. In 1973, Pandya joined the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts, as a staff internist. He practised clinical medicine while continuing his research studies and teaching, until his retirement in 1995. After this, Pandya moved his office to the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bumc.bu.edu/anatneuro/our-people/faculty/pandya/|title=Deepak Pandya, M.D. » Anatomy & Neurobiology {{!}} Boston University|website=www.bumc.bu.edu|language=en|access-date=31 March 2017|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331025337/http://www.bumc.bu.edu/anatneuro/our-people/faculty/pandya/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Contributions and research == Pandya, along with many colleagues, made significant contributions in the field of connectivity of cerebral cortex. Several postdoctoral and Ph.D. students received training under Pandya. His research works have been internationally recognised and he presented his work at conferences in North America and Europe. Prior to his death, he had continued his research studies on comparative brain architectonics in monkeys and humans, as well as connectional studies in monkeys.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
==Personal life== He married Slovene American Ursuline Bonnie Zalokar, who resides in Falmouth, Massachusetts. They are the parents of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/06/21/dad_proud_as_shuttle_heads_home/|title=Local dad proud as space shuttle heads home - The Boston Globe|website=www.boston.com|language=en|access-date=31 March 2017}}</ref> He is a relative of Haren Pandya.<ref>{{cite news |title=Congress revives Haren Pandya murder case as Sunita Williams returns to Earth |url=https://english.varthabharati.in/india/congress-revives-haren-pandya-murder-case-as-sunita-williams-returns-to-earth |work=Vartha Bharati |date=19 March 2025 |access-date=23 May 2025}}</ref>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandya, Deepak}} Category:Indian emigrants to the United States Category:1932 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Case Western Reserve University faculty Category:Harvard Medical School faculty Category:Boston University faculty Category:Gujarat University alumni Category:People from Mehsana district Category:American people of Gujarati descent