Pioneering Indian scientist Soumya Swaminathan was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, the world’s oldest scientific academy still in existence. She follows in the footsteps of her late father, Bharat Ratna MS Swaminathan who was also a Fellow of the Royal Society. (Image: X)

Soumya Swaminathan also became the second Indian scientist to be elected in the more than 400-year history of the Royal Society. Professor Gagandeep Kang, a renowned vaccinologist, was the first Indian woman scientist to be elected in 2019. (Image: X)

Moreover, Soumya Swaminathan has now entered the coveted league of scientists with the rank of Isaac Newton. Sharing the news, Raghunath Mashelkar, former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and former President of the Indian National Academy of Sciences, wrote on the (Image: X)

Swami Swaminathan is an Indian physician and scientist who works as a principal advisor to the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP). It drives the strategy to achieve TB elimination goals by proposing policy decisions and course corrections. She was the chief scientist at the World Health Organization at the height of Covid-19 and director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). (Image: X)

She was born on May 2, 1959 in Chennai, and grew up in a family that valued science, education and social responsibility. Her mother, Meena Swaminathan, was an influential social worker who specialized in pre-school education, especially for underprivileged children. Her father, Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, was an Indian geneticist known internationally for his pioneering role in India’s “Green Revolution.” The father and daughter not only achieved a record achievement, but also contributed greatly to his scientific growth and health. (Image: Facebook)