Dr Soumya Swaminathan receives royal society fellowship

Chennai: Former WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan, who heads MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).

The honour, among the highest a scientist can receive globally, makes Dr Soumya is the second Indian woman to be inducted into the society, after Dr Gagandeep Kang, was the first to receive the honour in 2019. Dr Soumya was director of the National Institute of Tuberculosis research in Chennai, and went on to be the director general of ICMR and later chief scientist at WHO.

She shaped scientific responses to HIV, TB, and the Covid-19 pandemic. earning her a reputation as one of the world’s most consequential and trusted public health scientists. The Royal Society recognised her pioneering research in paediatric tuberculosis, her role in establishing clinical translational medicine training programmes in India, and her work in vaccine development and immunisation policy.

Scientists, policymakers, and public health officials across India have congratulated her on the achievement. Former CSIR director general Raghunath Mashelkar said, “Very proud moment for Indian science — and for us Indians.”

Dr Soumya’s father, agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan, was elected FRS in 1973, making them the first father-daughter FRS duo from India.