Gopinath Balakrish Nair is an Indian microbiologist known for his work on cholera. At present, he is the Ag. Regional Adviser, Research Policy and Cooperation Unit, Department of Communicable Diseases, World Health Organization. Before joining WHO, he was the executive director of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, NCR, India. Before joining THSTI, he was working in NICED as the director. He has also served as the director of Laboratory Sciences Division at the International Center for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research,, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Dr. Margaret Jane Pittman (1901–1995) was a pioneering bacteriologist whose research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on typhoid, cholera, and pertussis helped generate the development of vaccinations against these diseases as well as others. Dr. Pittman was also the first female to lead a NIH laboratory, when in 1957, she was appointed chief of their Laboratory of Bacterial Products, a position she held until 1971. In the 1960s she was a key NIH participant in developing standards for cholera vaccine in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization's campaign to control cholera in the region that is now Bangladesh. After her retirement in 1971, she continued to work for the World Health Organization as a consultant on vaccine standards, working in Cairo and Madrid and for the State Institute for Serum and Vaccine in Iran and Connaught Laboratories, Ltd., in Toronto.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world.
Subhash Mukherjee was an Indian scientist, physician who created the world's second and India's first child using in-vitro fertilisation. Kanupriya Agarwal (Durga), who was born in 1978, just 67 days after the first IVF baby in United Kingdom. Afterwards, Dr. Subhash Mukherjee was harassed by the then West Bengal state government and Indian Government are not allowed to share his achievements with the international scientific community. Dejected, he committed suicide on 19 June 1981.
The National Institute of Virology in Pune, India is an Indian virology research institute and part of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It was previously known as 'Virus Research Centre' and was founded in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation. It has been designated as a WHO H5 reference laboratory for SE Asia region.
Suman Chakraborty is a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and Sir J. C. Bose National Fellow. He has been the first in the history of IIT Kharagpur to be bestowed by the National Award for Teachers in the Higher Education Category by the honourable President of India. He is also Institute Chair Professor Awardee of 2023. He has served as the Dean, Research and Development, Associate Dean and the Head of the School of Medical Science and Technology of the Institute. He has also been National Academy of Engineering Chair Professor. He joined the Institute in 2002 as Assistant Professor and has been a Full Professor since 2008.
B K Thelma commonly known as Bittianda Kuttapa Thelma is a professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of Delhi, South Campus, New Delhi, India. She is the Principal investigator and Co-ordinator of the Centre of excellence on Genomes Sciences and Predictive Medicine funded by the Govt. of India. She is also the Co-ordinator of a major project on newborn screening for inborn errors of metabolism in Delhi state which aims to demonstrate the feasibility of mandatory screening of newborns in the country and to generate epidemiological data for the testable IEMs in the genetically distinct Indian population, for the first time.
Edward Thomas Ryan is an American microbiologist, immunologist, and physician at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital. Ryan served as president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from 2009 to 2010. Ryan is Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Director of Global Infectious Diseases at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Ryan's research and clinical focus has been on infectious diseases associated with residing in, immigrating from, or traveling through resource-limited areas. Ryan is a Fellow of the American Society of Microbiology, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the American College of Physicians, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Nirmal Kumar Dutta (1913–1982) was an Indian pharmacologist, medical academic and the director of Haffkine Institute, Mumbai. He was known for his contributions to the studies on cholera and was an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India and the Indian National Science Academy. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 1965.
Poonam Salotra is an Indian scientist and researcher, appointed as Consultant at the ICMR-National Institute of Pathology (NIP) whose work is centered on infectious diseases like Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), Anthrax, Tuberculosis and Cholera. Her research covers the development of diagnostic tests and attenuated vaccines, drug resistance and immune responses for patients with Leishmaniasis in some form.
Amita Aggarwal is an Indian clinical immunologist, rheumatologist and a Professor and Head at the Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow. Known for her studies in autoimmune rheumatic diseases, Aggarwal is a recipient of the Shakuntala Amir Chand Award of the Indian Council of Medical Research and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, National Academy of Medical Sciences and the National Academy of Medical Sciences. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded her the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for her contributions to biosciences in 2004.
Sangita Mukhopadhyay is an Indian molecular cell biologist, immunologist and the head of the molecular biology group at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics. Known for her studies on immunosuppression and infection biology, Mukhopadhyay is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies namely the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded her the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for her contributions to biosciences in 2008.
Santasabuj Das is an Indian medical doctor, molecular immunologist, bioinformatician and a scientist at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata. He is known for his studies on the pathogenesis of various types of infections caused by Salmonella in humans and is an elected fellow of the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology. He is a former Fulbright scholar and a life member of the Probiotic Association of India, the Society of Biological Chemists, India and the Indian Science Congress Association. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences, in 2011.
Dr. Manmohan Parida, Sc ‘H’ is the director of the Indian Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior. He assumed the position with effect from 1 October 2021. He obtained his graduation in Veterinary Science from Odisha Veterinary College as best graduate with three Gold Medals into his credit. He earned his master's degree in Veterinary Virology from prestigious Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar and further obtained his Doctorate Jiwaji University, Gwalior in Microbiology. He was also awarded with Monbusho Fellowship from Japanese Govt and pursued Post Doctoral Research Scientist at Institute of Tropical Medicine, WHO reference center for research on arboviruses, Nagasaki, Japan.
Chandrima Shaha is an Indian biologist. As of September 2021, she is the J. C. Bose Chair Distinguished Professor at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata. She is the former Director and former Professor of Eminence at the National Institute of Immunology. She was the President of Indian National Science Academy (2020–22) and the Vice President of the same academy (2016–2018). She is an elected fellow of the World Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences and the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology.
COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that cases COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral presence through its molecular components are used to diagnose individual cases and to allow public health authorities to trace and contain outbreaks. Antibody tests instead show whether someone once had the disease. They are less useful for diagnosing current infections because antibodies may not develop for weeks after infection. It is used to assess disease prevalence, which aids the estimation of the infection fatality rate.
The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed in the Indian state of West Bengal on 17 March 2020 in Kolkata. The Health and Family Welfare department of Government of West Bengal has confirmed a total of 13,43,442 COVID-19 positive cases, including 1,09,806 active cases, 15,120 deaths and 12,18,516 recoveries, as of 28 May 2021.
National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections or NIRBI previously known as National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases is an Indian medical institute that conducts research and develops prevention and treatment and control strategies related to enteric diseases and HIV/AIDS. The headquarter of NICED is located at Kolkata, West Bengal. NIRBI is affiliated to and financed by Indian Council of Medical Research.
Truenat is a chip-based, point-of-care, rapid molecular test for diagnosis of infectious diseases. The technology is based on the Taqman RTPCR chemistry which can be performed on the portable, battery operated Truelab Real Time micro PCR platform. Truenat is developed and manufactured by Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics Private Limited.
Pragya D. Yadav is an Indian scientist at the ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), who is known for her research contributions in the field of communicable diseases and highly pathogenic viral infections, such as Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), Nipah, Ebola, leading to improvising national public health surveillance policy for interventions and management. Yadav is among the scientists who detected the first three COVID-19 pandemic cases in India. She headed the team that developed Covaxin, the first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in India
