Biologist Gagandeep Kang, a professor at Vellore’s Christian Medical College has achieved a new milestone in her academically rich career. She has been inducted as Fellow of the Royal Society of London. She is currently on sabbatical from Vellore’s CMC and working as the executive director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute in Faridabad. Gagandeep is the first woman scientist from India to receive this honor. The 360-year-old council of the Royal Society only helmed male scientists from India. She is known for her inter-disciplinary research “studying the transmission, development, and prevention of enteric infections” in children in India, stated The Royal Society. She is also acknowledged for building national rotavirus and typhoid surveillance networks, establishing laboratories to support vaccine trials and conducting phase 1-3 clinical trials of vaccines.
According to The Royal Society website,
Kanga is investigating the complex relationships between infection, gut infection, gut function, and physical and cognitive development, and seeking to build stronger human immunology research in India. 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
Gagandeep was conferred with the Infosys Prize in Life Sciences for her work in public health in 2016. During that time, she was the chairperson of the World Health Organisation Southeast-Asia region’s Immunisation Technical Advisory Group. May this just be the beginning of her achievements and she keeps on doing such ground-breaking works in her life.
