Scientist Gagandeep Kang has made India proud as she has become the first woman scientist to be selected as a fellow of the Royal Society, London. The Royal Society is an independent scientific academy of the UK and the Commonwealth, dedicated to promoting excellence in science.
Her honorary fellowship of the world’s oldest scientific academy came alongside 51 new fellows and 10 new foreign members as part of the 2019 cohort unveiled earlier this week.
Kang is the Executive Director of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, India and she is the first woman to get selected as a fellow in 359 years of history of this prestigious scientific academy.
Kang is known for her interdisciplinary research of enteric infections among children, has played a significant role in developing indigenous vaccines against rotavirus and typhoid. She is investigating the complex relationships between infection, gut function and physical and cognitive development, and seeking to build a stronger human immunology research in India.
Congratulations to Gagandeep Kang (ED @THSTIFaridabad , Manjul Bhargava (Member, PM’s STIAC)and all others elected as Fellows @royalsociety . Kang is the first woman Fellow from India, if I am not mistaken. pic.twitter.com/4aTCKvVz26 — Principal Scientific Adviser, Govt. of India (@PrinSciAdvGoI) April 17, 2019
Based first at the Christian Medical College, Vellore and now at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, two very different institutions, she has established strong training programmes for students and young faculty in clinical translational medicine aiming to build a cadre of clinical researchers studying relevant problems in India.
Congratulations Gagandeep Kang, the first Indian woman scientist from India getting elected as FRS in 360 years of history of Royal Society! Very proud of you! https://t.co/d5i9wLfjOF — Raghunath Mashelkar (@rameshmashelkar) April 18, 2019
Parsi-born Ardaseer Cursetjee Wadia, an Indian shipbuilder and engineer belonging to the Wadia ship building family, was the first Indian to be elected a Royal Society Fellow, way back in 1841, India Today reported.
“It is our Fellowship that has remained a constant thread and the substance from which our purpose has been realised: to use science for the benefit of humanity. “ Venki Ramakrishnan PRS Meet our new Fellows https://t.co/i1Wg5BoyoZ#RSFellows pic.twitter.com/1PLBivQ5vS — The Royal Society (@royalsociety) April 17, 2019
Among the Indian-origin scientists elected as fellows this year include Prof Gurdyal Besra, University of Birmingham, Prof Manjul Bhargava, R Brandon Fradd Professor of Mathematics, Department of Mathematics, Princeton University, Prof Anant Parekh, Professor of Physiology, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford; and Prof Akashay Venkatesh, Professor, School of Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study.
While many Indian scientists have earlier been selected, no female scientist had made it to the Royal Society fellowship. In an article she wrote for the Economic Times in 2017, Kang pointed out herself that we need a society where science is valued and a society that would support women in all fields. If this happens then women in science ‘problem’ will take care of itself.
Meanwhile, 82-year-old chairman of pharmaceutical major Cipla, Yusuf Hamied has been made an Honorary Fellow of the prestigious body, comprising of many of the world’s most eminent scientists.
Source:IT
Image Courtesy:BioVoice
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