In her words: Dr Soumya Swaminathan |
Only two Indian women have ever been elected Fellows of the Royal Society, the world’s oldest scientific academy with more than 400 years of continuous existence. Coincidentally, both Gagandeep Kang and Soumya Swaminathan became household names during the Covid-19 pandemic. As chief scientist at the World Health Organisation, Swaminathan was the familiar, measured, reassuring voice of science on television screens around the world.
A paediatrician by training, Swaminathan began her career researching tuberculosis and HIV. She bears the legacy of her father M.S. Swaminathan—widely regarded as the architect of India’s Green Revolution—and also of her mother Mina Swaminathan, a pioneer in early childhood development who helped shape important welfare programmes including Integrated Child Development Services.
I spoke with Swaminathan on the phone while she was returning from a field trip to Arunachal Pradesh’s Keyi Panyor to study progress at India’s first “bio-happy district” a concept imagined by her father that focuses on human well-being through conservation and bio-diversity.
As a newly minted Fellow of the Royal Society, what does the honour mean to you personally and to women in science everywhere?
The first thing is the recognition of the quality of the scientific work that one has done. Quite often when you live and work in a developing country, it is that much harder to get your work published. It’s also more difficult to do research and science because of the bureaucracy and complex procedures. For example, in the US where I have worked, if you need a reagent for your experiment, you order it and the next morning it arrives on your table. In India, it would take weeks.
If you want to travel abroad to present a paper at an international conference, you have to take so many permissions. These could come one day before the conference so you cannot plan or buy your ticket or get a visa. So many scientists miss these opportunities to go to international meetings where you learn and people learn about your work.
So to come back to your question, the Fellowship is basically a global recognition by your peers........