Dr. Robindra Nath Khaund, a prominent and long time member of the North American Assamese community, is one of the forerunners, who arrived in the USA long before a majority of present members in the diaspora. In a world of rapid jet age travel, it may seem strange to think that almost half a century ago, it was not unusual for an Indian student aspiring higher education in the USA to spend several weeks on a boat to reach its shining shore. But that’s exactly how, Dr. Robin Khaund, born and brought up on the banks of Bhogdoi river in Jorhat, Assam, came for post-graduate studies in Biochemistry at Texas A & M University, College Station,Texas in 1960.
An Ex-Cottonian, Dr. Khaund completed his MS degree in Biochemistry and returned to Assam in 1963 to join the Veterinary Department of Government of Assam as a Nutrition Officer. A year later, he joined the Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), Jorhat as a researcher. He got married in 1964 and then returned to the USA with his wife Gouri Khaund to pursue a Ph.D program in Biochemistry at Texas A&M University. After obtaining his Ph.D. degree, he had a brief stint as a post-doctoral fellow in the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. In 1972, he joined the Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, NY, where he worked a number of years in the Department of Pathology, moving up to become the Laboratory Director of Immunology & Endoctrinology. In 1990 he joined Brooklyn Fertility Center & Bio-Tech Laboratory as Director and continued in that position until 1998 when he joined Manhattan Diagnostic Laboratory as its Director. He is currently continuing in that position. Additionally, Dr. Khaund is associated with New Hope Fertility Center in Manhattan with full responsibility for all laboratory work related to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Dr. Khaund together with wife, Gouri (now deceased), raised two very successful sons. The older, Dr. Razib Khaund, MD is a recognized physician in sports medicine and orthopedics in Rhode Island (cited by a medical journal as the best in his subject in Rhode Island state) and serves as Assistant Professor in Sports Medicine on the faculty of Brown University. His younger son, Sanzib Khaund, is an electrical engineering graduate from Cornell University and has a Wharton MBA in Finance & Marketing. Sanzib currently works in Microsoft management in the capacity of a Director in Redmond, Washington in charge of Engineering and Marketing groups. Recently, Sanzib had a rare opportunity to meet and make a personal presentation to Bill Gates.
Dr.Robin Khaund is an ex-president of the Assam Society of America (formerly “ASOM SANGHA”) and wishes it well.
By Umesh C. Tahbildar, West Windsor,
New Jersey
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