Howard University Professor, Author

Sachindra N. Pradhan, 89, a researcher and professor of pharmacology at Howard University's medical school from 1955 until his retirement in 1993, died March 21 at his home in Bethesda of complications from a stroke.

Dr. Pradhan wrote four books, including "India in the United States: Contributions of India and Indians in the United States of America" (1996). He also edited two scientific textbooks and wrote numerous articles published in scientific journals.

Sachindra Nath Pradhan was born in an Indian village with no running water or electricity. He walked several miles barefoot to attend school. In the early 1940s, he received an undergraduate degree in chemistry, and in 1945 a medical degree, both from the University of Calcutta. He did graduate work at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine before coming to the United States in 1953 as a visiting scientist to the National Cancer Institute, where he worked for two years.

In 1959, Dr. Pradhan received a doctorate in pharmacology from George Washington University.

In the 1970s, Dr. Pradhan started a charitable trust, the Pradhan Foundation, to help poor and needy students in India. In 1998, he provided money that established the S.N. Pradhan Centre for Neurosciences at the University of Calcutta.

Survivors include his wife of 32 years, Dr. Sikta Pradhan of Bethesda.

-- Lauren Wiseman