Kaul retires after 17 years of service to OSU-CHS

Monday, July 22, 2024

Media Contact: Sara Plummer | Communications Coordinator | 918-561-1282 | sara.plummer@okstate.edu

With years of working in global and public health, including taking a leading role in Oklahoma’s COVID-19 testing services, Dr. Anil Kaul, clinical professor and program director of Global Health at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, recently retired after 17 years of dedicated service. 

"OSU has been like a family, and the Tulsa community has been incredibly supportive. The opportunities provided by OSU-CHS have allowed me to grow professionally, and I have enjoyed contributing to the institution’s mission," Kaul said.

Growing up in Kashmir, India, Kaul was inspired by his father, a maxillofacial surgeon, and he pursued medicine and dentistry at Madras Medical College and King George's Medical University, both in India. 

His interest in public health began during his obstetrics and gynecology training at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. His passion further developed at the University of Minnesota, where he worked with the Minnesota Department of Health.

In 2007, Kaul joined OSU-CHS as a faculty member in the OBGYN department. He established a clinical laboratory, which later evolved into the High-Complexity Diagnostic Laboratory. His job then expanded to teaching global health courses and developing the master’s degree program in global health under the School of Health Care Administration.

“As humans, we are inexorably interconnected and the health of an individual is influenced by the global health of people, animals and the environment,” Kaul said

While the increase in global communication, trade and travel has many benefits, it also creates challenges. 

“The movement of people and goods facilitates the spread of infectious diseases, which can lead to epidemics and even pandemics like COVID-19, which touched every corner of the globe,” he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, OSU-CHS served as a drive-thru testing location and having Kaul’s High-Complexity Diagnostic Laboratory on site meant people got their results in a matter of hours instead of days.

He also worked to initiate COVID-19 testing at OSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s Oklahoma Animal Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory in Stillwater, working with volunteers and lab scientists to provide timely results and significantly contributing to the state's pandemic response.

“Honestly, I believe it was a privilege to volunteer and serve our community, and the state of Oklahoma during the COVID pandemic. Credit goes to countless volunteers who left their families and the comfort of their homes to stay up late to test and send out results in the shortest possible time so that the spread of the virus could be limited,” Kaul said. 

During his decades-long career, Kaul has had a positive impact on global health, not only by establishing and directing OSU-CHS’s Global Health degree program, but also through his international work. 

In conjunction with U.S. government and military global health projects, Kaul has traveled across the world training health care workers to detect and respond to emerging infectious diseases. 

"Global health is crucial because we are interconnected. The health of individuals is influenced by global factors, and my work has focused on building capacity and training healthcare professionals globally," he said. “Through global health we also educate ourselves and learn how to deliver efficient health care in cost-effective ways.”

During his time in health care and higher education, Kaul also conducted and participated in research projects covering topics from preterm births to urinary tract infections resulting in more than 100 publications and presentations and five patents.

He’s also been recognized with a number of awards including the Expeditionary Service Award from the U.S. Secretary of State in 2013 and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Indo-Global Healthcare Summit in 2014.

Kaul said he has overcome challenges and accomplished a lot during his career at OSU-CHS, but he hopes he leaves a legacy of dedication, innovation and service that will inspire future health care professionals.

“I will miss working with my colleagues at OSU-CHS, who always work as a team to achieve our institutional goals. But most importantly I will miss teaching and mentoring our students,” he said. “It is an honor to be a teacher and help our future generation. I’m sure I will continue to pursue these goals even during my retirement.”