Lieutenant General Pankaj P Rao has assumed the charge of Director and Commandant of Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune. An alumnus of AFMC, Rao was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1987. He completed his MS in General Surgery from AFMC in 1995, followed by a Fellowship in GI Surgery in 2004 from AIIMS, New Delhi and a fellowship in Liver Transplantation in 2012 from Medanta Hospital, New Delhi.
In a career spanning 37 years, Rao has held prestigious academic, clinical and administrative appointments including that of Surgical Specialist at HQ, IMTRAT, Bhutan, Senior Advisor, Surgery at Army Hospital, (Research & Referral), New Delhi, and Command Hospital, Pune, Professor & Head of Department, Department of Surgery, AFMC, Pune and Commandant, Military Hospital, Wellington.
On promotion as a Major General, he commanded Command Hospital, Central Command, where under his guidance the hospital was awarded the first runner-up award in the Raksha Mantri Trophy.
Before his current appointment, Rao served as Senior Consultant (Surgery) at the Office of the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services, New Delhi, where he played a key role in shaping critical healthcare policies. His contributions were instrumental in the revision of the Combat Casualty Care doctrine, with a particular focus on enhancing training methodologies and refining course content. Additionally, he spearheaded efforts to bolster organ donation within the Armed Forces and was pivotal in restructuring the formats for Annual Specialist Returns.
An ardent educator, he has mentored numerous postgraduate and super-specialty students. His commitment to medical research is reflected in over 60 scientific publications featured in prestigious international and national indexed medical journals. He has also successfully led multiple research projects under the Armed Forces Medical Research Committee (AFMRC). His scholarly contributions have been recognised with esteemed accolades, including the Chief of Air Staff Best Paper Award in 2015 and the Best Research Paper Award at AFMRC in 2016.
Among his many professional milestones, Rao holds the distinct honour of successfully leading the liver transplant team during his tenure as Senior Advisor (Surgery) at Army Hospital (R&R), New Delhi.
He was also conferred with the Chief of Army Staff Commendation in 2001.
