Professional Background

In 1961, Dr. Mani M. Mani was an aspiring young physician in India. While training under the renowned Dr. Paul Wilson Brand-a pioneer in leprosy surgery-Dr. Mani crossed paths with Dr. David Robinson. That fateful meeting would set into motion decades of partnership and innovation.

"I got a letter from Dr. Robinson in 1968 urging me to come to the University of Kansas Medical Center. I completed a residency at KU and returned to India. I was named full professor and had every intention of staying in India," Dr. Mani said.

But Dr. Mani's time in Kansas was far from over.

"Dr. Robinson came back to India in 1972 and asked me to join the faculty," he explained.

Dr. Mani moved his whole family to Kansas. In 1974, he became the Medical Director of the Gene and Barbara Burnett Burn Center.

"We initially organized 10 beds and began establishing the protocol for contemporary burn care to include all relevant specialties for optimum treatment," he said. "This protocol was ultimately adopted as the standard of care by every city, hospital, ambulance and fire department in the state of Kansas."

In the years that followed, the burn protocol also became a standard of care in many parts of the United States and abroad, including Malaysia, Australia and Kyrgyzstan, and now India. He also played a pivotal role in American Burn Association's burn care education efforts around the world.

Dr. Mani M. Mani is known for many achievements but insists teaching brings him the most gratification.

"To see a young mind open up is amazing," Dr. Mani said. "It has been wonderful to see so many of my students become respected surgeons."
Today, Dr. Mani is actively working with the Department of Plastic Surgery on training suture craft to medical students.

"Many people think plastic surgery means cosmetic surgery," Dr. Mani said. "It's more than that, and KUMC offers training in the whole spectrum of specialties."