{"id":30,"date":"2025-05-21T06:51:55","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T06:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/team\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T15:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:40:11","slug":"team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/team\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0938\u093e\u0902\u0918\u093f\u0915 \u092c\u093e\u0902\u0927\u0923\u0940"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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TEAM & ADVISORS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The people behind PRACHI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

PRACHI’s work is guided by some of India’s most respected names in oncology and palliative care, and carried out by a team of directors, coordinators and volunteers across Maharashtra and Goa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Leadership<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

PRACHI is led by a team that pairs deep scientific expertise with decades of management experience \u2014 scientific direction from two cancer researchers, and organisational strength from two senior management leaders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Ram Datar<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chairman & Director \u00b7 Cancer scientist<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Datar earned his Ph.D. at the Cancer Research Institute of the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai \u2014 now part of ACTREC, Kharghar \u2014 where he worked for 12 years. He then spent 22 years in the United States in leadership roles at the University of Southern California, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Miami, where he was Founder Co-Director of the Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute. He is currently CEO of the US biomedical device start-up Circulogix Inc.

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Dr. Narendra Joshi<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Director \u00b7 Cancer scientist<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Joshi earned his doctorate at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, followed by eight years of postdoctoral research at Tufts, Harvard, and the University of California, San Francisco. He later joined the Cancer Research Institute at ACTREC as a senior researcher, studying the genetic and immunological aspects of cancer risk




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Dr. (Surg Lt Cdr, Retd) Anushree Vartak<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Director \u00b7 Breast Surgical Oncologist<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Vartak is Senior Consultant in Breast Surgical Oncology at Ghaziabad’s Yashoda Superspeciality Hospital. She completed advanced breast cancer surgery training in France (ESSO) and an Oncoplastic Fellowship with a University of Rome observership. Commissioned into the Indian Armed Forces in 2018, she served five years as Consultant Surgical Oncologist at INHS Ashvini and AHRR. A women\u2019s health advocate, she writes for BeingBreastAware and volunteers with the Indian Cancer Society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Mr. Kiran Utpat<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Director \u00b7 Management<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Utpat brings over 40 years of industry experience. As a management consultant to leading organisations, he has been instrumental in guiding their steady growth.






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Mr. Aniruddha Joshi<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Director \u00b7 Management<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An IIT Kharagpur mining engineering graduate with more than four decades in the mining industry, Mr. Joshi retired as a Director of Sesa Goa. He now advises a range of organisations as a consultant, bringing a wealth of management experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Medical Advisors<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Our medical board brings together some of India’s most respected names in oncology and palliative care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Anil D’Cruz<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Surgical Oncologist \u2014 Head & Neck<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of India’s foremost head and neck surgical oncologists, Dr. D’Cruz is Director of Oncology Services \u2013 Surgical Oncology at Apollo Cancer Centres, with over 37 years in cancer surgery. A globally recognised clinician, researcher, and teacher, he is a former Director of Tata Memorial Hospital and a past President of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Geneva. He has also served as President of the Asian Society of Head & Neck Oncology and of the Foundation for Head & Neck Oncology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Shripad Banavali<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Medical Oncologist<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Banavali is Director of Academics and Professor in the Department of Medical & Pediatric Oncology at Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, where he also coordinates the Rural Outreach Programme. He is Founder-Chairman of the ImPaCCT Foundation, which funds free treatment for all paediatric patients at TMC, and a former Head of the department. Among many honours, he received the international Barton Kamen Prize for his research on metronomics in childhood cancers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Ravi Nayar<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Otolaryngologist<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Nayar is Program Director of the inter-institutional biomedical innovation programme C-CAMP, and a consultant otolaryngologist and neuro-otologist in Bangalore. A UGC Professor of Practice and academic advisor to several universities and research councils, he is a former Dean of HCG Academics and former Head of ENT at St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore.
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Dr. Prince John<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Palliative & Geriatric Care Physician<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. John is a palliative and geriatric care physician with over 15 years’ experience. Educated in Mumbai, he trained further at Cardiff University (UK) and Flinders University (Australia), and previously held roles at Tata Memorial Hospital and other leading Mumbai hospitals before moving to Pune. He specialises in managing cancer pain and in palliative care for patients with respiratory, neurological, and kidney conditions, with a focus on improving quality of life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Mary Ann Muckaden<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Radiation Oncologist & Palliative Medicine Specialist<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Muckaden founded the Department of Palliative Medicine at Tata Memorial Centre, establishing India’s first MD programme in the field. A former President of the Indian Association of Palliative Care and former Chairperson of the International Children’s Palliative Care Network, she has a special interest in paediatric palliative care. She founded Sukoon Nilaya, an inpatient palliative care unit, and now focuses on non-cancer and mental-health palliative care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Legal & Technology Advisors<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Adv. Dr. Nilima Bhadbhade<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Advocate & Legal Academic<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Bhadbhade is an advocate and academic specialising in contract, property, insurance, and evidence law. She served on the Expert Committee whose recommendations led to the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act, 2018. Following thirteen years in practice and a tenure as associate professor at ILS Law College, she trains law graduates and professionals, and shares plain-language legal insights on obiterdicta.in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Adv. Shrisiddhi Sabne<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Data Privacy & Cyber Law Expert<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adv. Sabne (CS, LLM) is a civil and corporate lawyer specialising in data privacy, cyber law, and cybersecurity. She advises organisations on data-protection strategy and compliance with GDPR and India’s emerging data-privacy regime, and also handles commercial disputes and family law with a practical, solution-oriented approach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Nakul Datar<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Software Solutions Expert<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nakul Datar (BS and MS in Computer Engineering & Computer Science, USC) is founder of Via Simplex and founder-partner of Dronographic Inc., both in the USA. A former Director of Mobile Development at Krixi and CTO of Vernac Language Technologies, he brings extensive product-development experience across geospatial intelligence, mobility, machine learning, and human-computer interaction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ashish Yardi<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ERP Consultant<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashish Yardi is an ERP consultant and Managing Director of Werardt Systems, which he co-founded. His deep understanding of business processes underpins OPSCALE, the company’s ERP software, used by customers in India and overseas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Coordinators<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

PRACHI’s day-to-day activities are coordinated by a team with backgrounds across the non-profit sector, public service, and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mrs. Maya Utpat<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Coordinator<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Mrs. Utpat (M.Sc., B.J., B.Ed.) is a former Superintendent of Customs & Central Excise, and serves as a coordinator at a Pune-based NGO.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Mrs. Armin Jamshedji<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Coordinator<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Mrs. Jamshedji (MA Psychology, Diploma in Business Management) is the former Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Family Planning Association of India.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Mrs. Kalindi Joshi<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Coordinator<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Mrs. Joshi (M.Sc., M.Ed.) is a PRACHI shareholder who has worked for over 20 years in a leadership role in the state-wide operations of the Matruchhaya Orphanage in Goa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Mrs. Archana Gosavi<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Administrative Coordinator<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Gosavi [DME, DBM, MBS (Operations & Materials Management)] has more than 15 years’ experience in manufacturing. A former senior executive assistant to an MD and CEO, she is a certified internal auditor and a Six Sigma Green Belt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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TEAM & ADVISORS The people behind PRACHI PRACHI’s work is guided by some of India’s most respected names in oncology and palliative care, and carried out by a team of directors, coordinators and volunteers across Maharashtra and Goa. Leadership PRACHI is led by a team that pairs deep scientific expertise with decades of management experience […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"no-title","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"campaignId":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":901,"href":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30\/revisions\/901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prachihope.org\/mr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}