Obituary: Professor Abha Maheshwari

We lost one of the warmest and kindest people when Professor Abha Maheshwari, born on 4 July 1971, passed away in August (see BioNews 1351).

Abha grew up in Delhi and attended the Navyug school – a standalone school for gifted children across the whole city – winning one of 90 places from a field of around 5000 applicants. By the age of ten, it was clear she was a bright, determined person who knew what she wanted to do.

She was also a very talented painter, which few of us knew about until the last six months of her life, when she picked up her brushes again and left the most colourful paintings for her family and friends to enjoy. An accomplished seamstress, she made her own clothes on her one day off each week while studying medicine at the University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, before graduating in 1994.

Abha joined her husband in the UK in 2000, where she obtained her membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) during postings in several hospitals in the Yorkshire deanery.

I met Abha when she came for an interview for a clinical research fellow post in a wintry Aberdeen in 2005. She was super keen to do research and learn clinical skills and was rather quiet! However, by 2012, having published multiple research papers, created a national and international profile while training, and having become a HFEA person responsible, there was no more 'quiet Dr Maheshwari'!

Abha was the lead consultant and laboratory director for Reproductive Medicine and Surgery in the Aberdeen Fertility Centre. She was clinical lead for the Fertility Scotland National Network, working with the Scottish Government, and also clinical lead for Reproductive Health and Childbirth for National Research Scotland following personal fellowships from the Chief Scientist Office for her work on safety and efficacy in assisted reproduction.

Abha and I spent many hours on train journeys, mainly to Edinburgh, to work with the Scottish Government. During these journeys, we spent a lot of time speaking in a language only we understood relating to quality management processes. Abha was always working and on top of the latest research.

Many people and organisations benefited from Abha's knowledge and expertise. Aberdeen became the first centre to obtain accreditation of subspecialist training in Reproductive Medicine by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, thanks to Abha's drive.

For many years she served on the Executive Committee of the British Fertility Society (BFS) and also as an Andrology Special Interest Group member. She took over as editor-in-chief of the BFS' journal Human Fertility, and she was also a member of the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group Editorial Board.

In addition to her editorial work, she supervised the RCOG-accredited sub-speciality training in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, as well as providing multiple training modules for the BFS.

Meanwhile, back in the Aberdeen Fertility Centre, Abha was the HFEA person responsible for 13 years. Unsurprisingly, she somehow found time to be on the HFEA Licensed Centres Panel.

There was a lunch at the Aberdeen Fertility Centre in June this year at which there was a presentation entitled 'Abha You Are a Legend' which highlighted her career. Such a great title, as that is exactly what she was – a legend who influenced so many current and former staff in Aberdeen, patients throughout Scotland and those she worked with nationally and internationally.

She leaves a legacy of delivering excellence in training, research – with 120 publications to her name, working with 50 co-authors – and clinical service, hand in hand within an NHS setting. At the service to celebrate her life, Abha left us the task of saving the NHS(!), and maintaining teaching and training as she has done throughout her career.

She will be greatly missed and forever remembered, as an area of the new fertility centre being built in Aberdeen will be named after her.

Outside of work, Abha was never happier than when she was cooking and entertaining. We benefited from warm homemade bread, samosas with chutneys, pakoras, and many other treats. She loved having people in her home and serving cocktails, with porn star martinis her speciality! Her charitable work included being a Trustee for Aberdeen College and the Aberdeen Hindu Temple Trust.

She is survived by her husband Nitin, who stepped back from his working life to spend time with and care for Abha, and her two children Naman and Stuti. Nitin has spoken about the positive influence Abha had in so many walks of life and how she never lost patience. Abha was determined to be at Naman's graduation, which she attended in July, and managed to get great photos too.

Abha left us all with a message which was part of the celebration of her life: 'Look after each other, be nice to everyone and especially, look after the next generation'. Abha was an incredibly determined person who fought the disease that shortened her life, but unfortunately, in her own words: 'God had other plans'.