Kalinga Hospital is one of Dash’s projects in India. In Minnesota, he sponsors scholarships for college-bound students, supports the Minnesota Historical Society and is active in the Rotary Club of Edina. Photos: Dr. Dash Foundation
Probiotics pioneer S.K. Dash promotes a global model of philanthropy with his charitable foundation.
For many philanthropists, the desire to give back is sparked as they achieve big success and are better able to share the financial fruits of their labors. But for S.K. Dash, M.S., Ph.D., D.Sc., an Edina-based scientist and innovator, the urge to support members of his community who are most in need is simply part of his makeup. “In my life, from day one, I care,” Dash says. Growing up in Odisha, India, Dash was a natural leader and helped his peers find resources to play sports and attend school field trips. “Most people never had money for those things,” Dash says. “I made that available for my fellow students.”
Dash came to the United States in 1969 to complete his master’s degree in nutrition at South Dakota State University (SDSU). Even there, far from home, he found himself wanting to lift up other students. “I became the international student president to help as many international students as I could,” he says. “I helped bring about 300 students to SDSU.” He facilitated the journey to SDSU for students from India and other countries, all in the preinternet age. “We just had to mail things and use the phone. It was very nice to see all those guys who came,” he says.
After completing his master’s degree and Ph.D. in nutrition and biochemistry, Dash found himself at the cutting edge of a new field in biology: probiotics. He’d been working with livestock and found that a certain kind of probiotic was healing E. coli infections in pigs. Dash completed some studies to show that probiotics could be beneficial, upping the “good bacteria” in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract—in both animals and humans—and minimizing the side effects of antibiotics. In just a short time, Dash found a manufacturer who could produce his probiotic culture at scale, and business was booming. “Probiotics are strain specific,” he says. “I had the right strain that could work for E. coli and also other bacterial infections; it was broad spectrum.” Over the course of his career, Dash has written two books about probiotics and authored or co-authored more than 40 research articles.
By the end of the 1970s, Dash had been serving as the director of Food and Drug for the state of South Dakota for several years and was still involved at SDSU. In 1979, he officially founded UAS Laboratories to develop and market his probiotics products, quickly becoming known as a pioneer of the global probiotics industry. It was also time for a move to the Twin Cities. He and his wife, Kalpana Dash, originally settled in Bloomington to raise their two sons, Rajesh and Dave Dash. The family moved to Edina several years later. “I joined the Edina Rotary Club and that was one I really liked. We met every week and worked for the community,” he says. Rotary has remained close to his heart—last April, Dash and Kalpana were inducted into the Arch Klumph Society, a lifetime honor for Rotarians who have contributed $250,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation.
S.K. and Kalpana Dash
Dash—affectionately and alliteratively known as “Dr. Dash” to almost everyone—has had a visible impact via service and philanthropy. Over the past 30 years, he gradually transitioned from the day-to-day work of running his probiotics company to a heavier focus on philanthropy. He now runs the Dr. Dash Foundation, his charitable organization through which he supports dozens of education- and health-related causes around the world. “Helping others and giving means a lot to me,” Dash says. Among many appointments, he’s the chairman of Kalinga Hospital in Odisha, and has helped greatly improve its offerings for medical staff and patients, making it one of the region’s foremost multispecialty health care centers.
Closer to home, Dash is deeply involved with the community. The Minnesota History Center recently named the Dr. Dash Foundation Rotunda in his honor, thanks to his support of the Minnesota Historical Society and its cultural programs. He has also served as the chairman of the Hindu Society of Minnesota and was heavily involved in the building of its temple in Maple Grove, the first of its kind in Minnesota.
Perhaps most incredibly of all, Dash is still involved—in a hands-on way—with all of his projects, even at 81. He travels to India frequently to oversee his various initiatives, including Kalinga Hospital, and says, without a trace of hyperbole, that he still works for 20 hours a day. When he’s home in Edina, he works late into the night, so he can connect with Indian colleagues (there’s an 11-hour time difference). He speaks with familiar fondness of his now-grown sons and his three grandchildren, who live in California. Dash is passionate about helping children and young adults everywhere find educational opportunities and donates dozens of scholarships every year. “If you address kids where they are, they will be with you,” Dash says. “Many, many kids nowadays are volunteering. That’s one very nice thing.”
In a decades-long career that has involved not one but countless “very nice things,” Dash remains tireless in his commitment to serving all of his communities—from Edina to Odisha—and inspiring a new generation of scientists, doctors, cultural ambassadors and philanthropists who are making the world a better place.
To learn more about Dash and his work, visit drdashfoundation.com.
Facebook: Dr. Dash Foundation
