Gagandeep Kang FRS is an Indian microbiologist and virologist, who is known for her work in the field of curing viral infections in children and public health in India since the 1990s. In 2019, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, becoming the first Indian woman to achieve the feat. She focuses majorly on viral diseases in children and the R&D of rotaviral vaccines. She has co-authored the book Till We Win: India’s Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic, which became an immediate hit among the readers. She played a vital role in India’s fight against Covid-19.
Wiki/Biography
Gagandeep Kang was born on Saturday, 3 November 1962 (age 61 years, as of 2023) in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Due to her father’s transferable job, they shifted to a lot of places, and she constantly changed schools (10 schools in total). This made her familiar with different cultures. She started to enjoy science more and decided to pursue science further. Kang completed her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 1987 and Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Microbiology in 1991 at Christian Medical College, Vellore.
Christian Medical College Vellore, where Gagandeep Kang studied
During her MD, she joined a group in CMC called the “Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory,” which did community research. In an interview, she talked about how she ended up in gastrointestinal research and said,
I enjoyed the idea of public health and working with the community rather than working with a single patient. So I decided to try it out and I ended up in gastrointestinal research.”
Kang completed her PhD in 1998 at Christian Medical College. She earned a membership of the Royal College of Pathologists and went to UK and USA for further studies. She worked with Mary K. Estes for her Post-Doctoral research and joined her laboratory. After two years, she returned to Christian Medical College and joined as a faculty.
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her mother, Paramjit Dhanoya, was a teacher of English and history, and her father, Gurbhajan Singh Kang, was a mechanical engineer in the Indian Railways. Kang has a younger sister, Bhavdeep, born in Benaras in 1965, who is a journalist.
Gagandeep Kang with her mother, Paramjit Kang
Gagandeep Kang’s parents, Paramjit Kang (mother) and Gurbhajan Singh Kang (father)
Husband & Children
Dr Kang is married to Mathew Joseph, who is a neurosurgeon at CMC. She has two sons, Arjun Kang Joseph, and Tej Kang Joseph. ((The Global Sikh Trail))
Gagandeep Kang (sitting) with her son Tej Kang Joseph (extreme left), husband, Mathew Joseph (centre), and son Arjun Kang Joseph
Career
The Vaccine Programme
Since the 1990s, Kang has been working on Rotaviruses, which is a highly contagious virus that spreads rapidly in children, living especially in mild climates.
Electron micrograph of Rotavirus
Kang has worked on multi-fronts and has carried out phase I to III clinical trials of vaccines, providing lab support for vaccine development and establishing surveillance networks for rotavirus and typhoid in affected areas. Kang, along with private companies, has jointly developed two vaccines, Rotavac, and Rotasiil, both being approved by the W.H.O. According to a study in 2014, the vaccine can save 26000 lives in India. This gained her the title of ‘Vaccine God Mother’ of the country. She described this achievement as,
A vaccine for India, by India, & in India!”
Gagandeep Kang in her lab
Fellow of the Royal Society
In 2019, Kang became the first Indian woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Mary K. Estes, who worked with Kang at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) reacted to it and said,
This is a great honour for her and I am very proud of her achievements. I think what sets her achievement apart from many others is that most of what she has achieved has been through studies that were spearheaded and carried out in India.”
Associations
- Kang has been part of several editorials, which include PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine and International Health.
- She is the charge of WHO SEAR’s Regional Immunisation Technical Advisory Group (2015–present).
- She has been honoured with regular invitations as an associate faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, and adjunct professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts.
- She has served on the advisory committees of several programmes including India’s National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, the WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety and the Immunisation and Vaccine Implementation Research Advisory Committee.
- She has worked on India’s coronavirus vaccine programme established by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts at the WHO.
- She has been a member of the International Advisory Board since 2020, the Global Health Centre, and The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
- She was a member of the Board (2018–2023) of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
- She is a member of the Global Health Scientific Advisory Committee, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
Awards
- The Lourdu Yedanapalli Award for Excellence in Research (2005)
- Woman Bioscientist of the Year (2006)
- Infosys Prize in Life Sciences (2016)
Honours
- Dr. P.N. Berry Fellowship (1998-1999)
- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (2019)
Facts/Trivia
- Kang is the first Indian and the first woman to edit the 120-year-old textbook Manson’s Tropical Diseases.
- Dr Kang is fondly called Cherry at home.
- Dr Kang has published over 400 scientific papers.
- Dr Kang was the ninth woman to be awarded the Infosys Prize.
- Out of 10 schools, where Kang studied, Kang’s mother worked in seven of them as a teacher.
