From 1963 on wards Professor Emeritus Panata Migasena chaired the Department of Tropical Nutrition and Food Science of the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University and in addition served from 1983 to 1986 the Faculty of Tropical Medicine as Deputy Dean for Planning and Development.

He retired in 1994 having gained full professorship and reaching level 11 within the Thai civil service ranking. After retiring he was invited to be a consultant to the Department of Tropical Nutrition and Food Science up to present.

During his time as chairman of the Department of Tropical Nutrition and Food Science, his interest centered on the living conditions especially of the people living in the rural areas and their consumption behavior, his research activities concentrated on nutritional problems; contaminated food being a risk to cause cancer; liver fluke infection and liver cancer.

His research results were published in the international scientific peer reviewed literature with a total of 127 publications. In 1979, one of his studies about “physical responses of Thai people towards malnutrition, infectious disease and liver cancer” was awarded with the Admirable Certificate in the field of Medical Sciences from the National Research Council.

In 1988 he was appointed as associate member of the Royal Institute, Office of Science and in 1992 as a member of the Royal Institute Office of Science in the field of Health Sciences. He still is a member of this institution up to now.

From 2005 to 2007 he was appointed to be the chairman of the Office of Science. From 1992 to 1996 he was assigned as a member for the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Association of Thailand. He was the first chairman of the foundation of the Hospital for Tropical Disease and presently he is the first vice-president of this foundation. From 2003 onwards he is a member of the Committee of the Tuberculosis Foundation of Thailand.

Prof. Panata Migasena served the society in the aspect of supporting and further developing medical sciences and medical services in Thailand. He is a permanent member of Medical Association of Thailand and was elected as President of the Medical Association of Thailand from 1992 to 1994.

From 2007 up to now he joined thecommittee on the Protection and Promotion of Traditional Thai Medicine Wisdom, Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health. He has been appointed to be a consultant for the Subcommittee for Thai traditional and Pharmaceutical Terminology. He was appointed from the Mahidol University to attend the third group of the Boy Scout training course of the Office of the Prime Minister and was selected as the group’s leader.

He gave lectures about nutrition; and helped in planting trees and maintaining the environment. He received the Boy Scout Coin Praise Layer 1 in 1997; from 2000 to 2007 he was assigned to be a member of the Honorable Committee of the National Council of the Boy Scout Organization.

He was selected to receive the Outstanding Doctor Award for the year 1990 at the Confederation of Medical Association of Asia and Oceania in Hong Kong. This award is granted to only one medical doctor from a total of six countries yearly and he was the first Thai doctor receiving this prize.

In 1972, as a very honorable position, he was appointed to be the Advisor in Nutrition Planning of the Asia Society, New York, and was invited by Professor Barbara Underwood, the that time president, to participate in policy planning at the Ministry of Defense of the United States of America.

He received the prestigious insignia of the Royal Thai Orders and Decorations. To mention only the most highest and honorable decorations, he is the holder of the Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (M.w.m.), the Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (M.p.ch.) and the Boy Scout Coin Praise Layer 1.

Considering Prof. Panata Migasena’s educational and scientific background, the many awards he received and honorable positions he held during his professional career and after retirement, it is obvious that he is a person with a high ethical conduct; successful career, important research findings and that he is recognized as an outstanding scientist and academic person from the national as well as the international scientific community. He certainly deserves to receive the Mahidol Thayakorn Award for the year 2008 from Mahidol University Alumni Association.