Meet the 2026 Veterinary Heroes: Mukul Padalkar, MVSc, BVSc & AH, DABVP

“Whenever I think back to when I was a child, I don’t remember thinking of anything else that I wanted to do,” said Mukul Padalkar, MVSc, BVSc & AH, DABVP (Canine & Feline Practice), in an interview with dvm360.

Raised in India, Padalkar grew up in a family of physicians but was drawn to veterinary medicine herself. After earning her veterinary degree from Bombay Veterinary College in Mumbai, she practiced small-animal medicine for 5 years before moving to the US for a rotating internship at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

While practicing in India, diagnostic tools and trained support staff were limited, requiring veterinarians to perform many technical tasks themselves, Padalkar, a MentorVet-certified mentor, shared. Those experiences gave her skills she still relies on today.

She entered US private practice in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, later cofounding Revive Veterinary Care in San Carlos, California, and establishing a mentorship program there.

Looking back on her journey, Padalkar said the most important lesson she learned was to trust herself. If she were to offer advice to others, she said, it would be to have faith in themselves. “I’m very lucky that I get to be in this position where other people from India or minority women look at me and think, ‘Hey, I can also do this.’ If I can do it, why can’t they?” she said.

Congratulations to Padalkar from dvm360! You can check out the rest of our 2026 recipients and learn more about Padalkar here.