Chennai-born Dr Soumya Swaminathan appointed as Chief Scientist at WHO

Chennai-born Dr Soumya Swaminathan appointed as Chief Scientist at WHO

World Health Organisation (WHO) has named Dr Soumya Swaminathan as the organisation’s Chief Scientist in a new department. She was formerly the Deputy Director General of Programs of the WHO and incidentally was the first Indian to have held this position.

Soumya Swaminathan is an Indian Paediatrician and Clinical Scientist known for her work in Tuberculosis. In 2017, she has been appointed as the Deputy Director General of Programmes (DDP) at the WHO. Most recently, she has been working as Secretary, Department of Health Research – MOHFW,GOI.

Chennai-born Dr Soumya Swaminathan was most recently WHO’s Deputy Director-General for Programmes. A paediatrician from India and 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. Dr Swaminathan was Secretary of the Department of Health Research and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research. From 2009 to 2011, she also served as Coordinator of the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases in Geneva.

She has sat on several WHO and global advisory bodies and committees, including the WHO Expert Panel to Review Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property, the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of the Global TB Department at WHO, and as Co-Chair of the Lancet Commission on TB. She received her academic training in India, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, and has published more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters.