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Know about Soumiya Swaminathan, the newly-appointed WHO Deputy Director General

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced Soumiya Swaminathan's appointment on Tuesday morning.

Reshu Manglik Written by: Reshu Manglik New Delhi Updated on: October 04, 2017 20:21 IST
soumiya swaminathan WHO Deputy Director General
Soumiya Swaminathan appointed as WHO Deputy Director General

Soumiya Swaminathan, who heads the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been appointed as Deputy General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced her appointment on Tuesday morning. He was elected this year to head the Geneva-based Organisation. Swaminathan is a leading medical researcher and health policy expert. Apart from being the director-general of the ICMR, she is concurrently the secretary of the Department of Health Research in India’s Health Ministry. She has 30 years of experience in clinical care and research. 

The WHO announcement described her as "a globally recognized researcher on tuberculosis and HIV, she brings with her 30 years of experience in clinical care and research and has worked throughout her career to translate research into impactful programmes".

Who is Soumiya Swaminathan? 

Soumiya Swaminathan is an Indian paediatrician and Clinical Scientist who is known for her contribution in Tuberculosis research. She is an M.B.B.S from Armed Forces Medical College (India) and M.D. from All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences, along with a Diplomate of National Board from National Board of Examinations. She later held Post Doctoral Medical Fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonology at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. 

India Tv - soumiya swaminathan images

Soumiya Swaminathan images

Her father, M.S. Swaminathan who is an agricultural scientist is hailed as the father  of India’s Green Revolution. She has been the director of the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis in Chennai. She was also the coordinator of a special programme for research and training in tropical diseases collectively funded by several international organisations in Geneva. 

Her sister Madhura Swaminathan is a professor of economics at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata and Nithya Swaminathan is a Senior Lecturer in Gender Analysis and Developement at the University of East Anglia. 

Soumiya Swaminathan joined the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis in Chennai in 1992. She initiated a multi-disciplinary group of clinical laboratory and behavioural scientists analysing various facets of TB and TB/HIV. She along with her colleagues, were the first to scale up the use of molecular diagnostics for TB surveillance and care, to embark on large field trials of community-randomised strategies to bring TB treatment to underprivileged populations. Lately, she is the part of TB Zero City Project which aspires to create Islands of Elimination working with local government, institutions and grassroots associations.

Awards bagged by Soumiya Swaminathan

1999 Dr. Keya Lahiri Gold Medal for best paper presented, XI National Pediatric Pulmonary Conference

2008 Indian Council of Medical Research, Kshanika Oration Award
2009 Elected Vice-Chair, HIV section, International Union against TB and Lung Diseases
2011 Fellow, Indian Academy of Pediatrics
2011 Lifetime Achievement Award, Indian Association of Applied Microbiologists
2012 Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Award
2012 Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, India
2013 Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore
2016 ASTRAZENECA research endowment award, NIPER

 

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