Dr. Virendra B. Mahesh

1932 - 2019

Dr. Virendra B. Mahesh
Huntsville, AL—Dr. Virendra B. Mahesh, 87, of Huntsville, Ala., born April 25, 1932, in Khanki, Punjab, India, died Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at Magnolia Trace in Huntsville, Ala.
Dr. Mahesh was a renowned scientist and academician whose research on steroid hormones led to a greater understanding of their role in physiology and disease, and to the development of groundbreaking treatments for infertility. He did the basic research which determined that progesterone combined with estrogen in a birth control pill could produce contraceptive impact with much lower risks of blood clots, resulting in benefits for millions of women worldwide.
His lifelong devotion to science began when he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Patna University, India. He also earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Delhi University, India (1955) and a D.Phil. in biological sciences from Oxford University, England (1958). He joined the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta, Ga., as a member of the Department of Endocrinology faculty in 1959, a department he later chaired. He also established the Ph.D. program in Endocrinology and was the major advisor to 11 M.S. and 25 Ph.D. students.
Over the course of his career, he published more than 470 scientific articles. Even after retirement and after moving to Huntsville in 2006, he remained an active member of the scientific community and edited multiple scientific journals, including serving as editor-in-chief of the Biology of Reproduction journal.
A loving and ever-supportive husband, father and grandfather, Dr. Mahesh was preceded in death by his daughter Angela and wife, Sushila, for whom he had been a devoted caregiver for the years prior to her death. Surviving are his children, Dr. Anita Mahesh Schwarz and Dr. Vinit K. Mahesh; six grandchildren, with whom he established unique and loving relationships, Thomas Mahesh, Benjamin Mahesh, Alena Schwarz, Dr. Kellyn Mahesh Wilson, Jenneca Mahesh and Marriya Schwarz; one son-in-law, Dr. Gregory Schwarz; and one daughter-in-law, Marcelle Mahesh.
A memorial service will be held 2 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 8, at Magnolia Trace in Huntsville, Ala. In lieu of flowers, the family requests, with gratitude, that donations be sent to the Virendra Mahesh Lectureship and Graduate Student Award fund, Medical College of Georgia Foundation, 720 St. Sebastian Way, Suite 150, Augusta GA 30901 or online at www.mcgfoundation.org/Donate-Now.
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The Augusta Chronicle - July 28, 2019