Science is a dream that takes more than just your time to become a reality. From years of learning the basics to years of figuring out something that no one knows, it takes endless grit and sheer belief to pursue this dream. In India, many are born with a curiosity for science, but some have been able to etch their name in the books.
Among these is a father-daughter duo: India's leading scientist Soumya Swaminathan was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. She follows in the footsteps of her late father, Bharat Ratna MS Swaminathan who was also a Fellow of the Royal Society.
With this order, Soumya has entered the coveted league of scientists in the order of Isaac Newton. Sharing the news just as it was announced in London today, Raghunath Mashelkar, former DG, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and ex-President, Indian National Science Academy, wrote on X, “Dr Soumya Swaminathan has been elected as FRS, Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the highest global honours that a scientist can receive. With her father Bharat Ratna MS Swaminathan, also elected as FRS, this is the first daughter-father FRS duo from India.”
She also became the second Indian woman scientist to be elected in the over 400-year history of the Royal Society, the first being Prof Gagandeep Kang, a reputed vaccinologist, who was elected in 2019.
Who is Soumya Swaminathan and MS Swaminathan?
Dr Swaminathan is an Indian physician and scientist, working as the principal advisor to the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP). In her role, she is leading the strategy to achieve TB elimination targets by suggesting policy decisions and course corrections. She was Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation at the height of Covid-19 and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Born on May 2, 1959, in Chennai, she was raised in a family that valued science, education and social responsibility. Her mother, Mina Swaminathan, was an influential social worker who specialised in preschool education, specifically for underprivileged children. Her father, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, was an Indian geneticist globally recognised for his leading role in India’s “Green Revolution.”
Her interest in medicine began when she completed a project as a part of her scholarship awarded at the All-India Science Talent Competition. While she initially set out to study Zoology and wanted to become a veterinarian, she later attempted an entrance exam for the Armed Forces Medical College. Upon completing her education at the Armed Forces Medical College in 1980, she specialised in paediatrics at the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
While she left the country for a medical fellowship in neonatology and pediatric pulmonology at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and research experience as a fellow at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, she came back in 1992. Soon, she joined as a research fellow at the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) in Chennai.
Over the years, her work spans paediatric pulmonology, tuberculosis research, HIV, and global health policy. She played a key role in shaping India’s and the world’s response to public health challenges, including during her tenure at the WHO. She is also a Fellow of the US National Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), and all major science academies in India. She holds honorary doctorates from prestigious institutions including the Karolinska Institute, EPFL Lausanne, and McGill University, London.
Her father, Professor Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan was an eminent agricultural scientist and plant geneticist. He is remembered as the 'Father of the Green Revolution' in India since his high-yielding wheat and rice varieties transformed the nation from a food-scarce one to a self-sufficient one.
Along with being elected to the FRS in 1972, he was the Founder Chairman of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai, former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and recipient of 84 honorary doctorates worldwide. He has also been the recipient of Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and more recently, Bharat Ratna.
The father-daughter duo has not only made a record achievement for the country but has also contributed immensely to its scientific growth and health, enabling and inspiring many others to pursue STEM fields.
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