Pushpa S. Kalra

Dr. Pushpa Kalra was educated in India. She received her Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Delhi and subsequently specialized in Neuroendocrinology during post-doctoral fellowships at The University of Milan, Italy and at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas under the mentorship of two pioneers in the field. Pushpa followed her husband, the late Satya P. Kalra, to Gainesville, Fl in 1971. She was recruited to the Department of OB-GYN as Instructor where she established a clinical service laboratory along with her own basic science research program. She rose through the ranks to Professor in 1986 and in 1993 transferred to the Department of Physiology and subsequently relocated to the McKnight Brain Institute.

She enjoyed teaching Endocrinology to Medical and Dental students. Her research on unraveling how the brain controls the secretion of hormones related to reproductive processes and on the brain peptides that regulate appetite was conducted in partnership with Dr. Satya Kalra. She has been continuously funded by the NIH. Pushpa has published nearly 200 papers and book chapters, edited books, mentored graduate students and served for 20 years on several NIH Study Sections reviewing grant proposals.

Although Pushpa loved conducting research and teaching, after retirement she changed her focus in life. She has been busy traveling around the world and with volunteering activities. She has served on the Boards of several community organizations. She tried her hand at making stained glass and pottery only to discover she is completely devoid of artistic talent. Her hobbies are traveling, reading, golf and pickle ball. Presently she keeps busy with her work on the Board and the Curriculum Committee of the Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) at Oak Hammock and plans to increase the interactions between ILR and RFUF.