MargretGerken at 18:48, 2 May 2026

2026-05-02T18:48:47Z

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{{short description|Indian and WHO Deputy Director general}}
{{for|the chess player|Soumya Swaminathan (chess player)}}
{{Tamil name|Swaminathan|Soumya}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Soumya Swaminathan
| image = The Director General, ICMR and Secretary, DHR, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, in New Delhi on January 19, 2016.jpg
| caption = Swaminathan in 2016
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|05|02|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Madras]], [[Madras State]]<br>(present day [[Chennai]], Tamil Nadu), India
| occupation = {{Hlist|Paediatrician|Medical researcher}}
| title = Chief Scientist, [[World Health Organization]]
| alma_mater = {{Unbulleted_list|[[Armed Forces Medical College|Armed Forces Medical College, Pune]]|[[All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi]]|[[Children's Hospital Los Angeles]]|[[Keck School of Medicine of USC|Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles]]}}
| spouse = Ajit Yadav
| children = 2
| father = [[M. S. Swaminathan]]
| mother = [[Mina Swaminathan]]
| module = {{Infobox politician
| embed = yes
| office = Deputy Director of the World Health Organization
| term_start = 2017
| term_end =March 2019
}}
}}
'''Soumya Swaminathan''' (born 2 May 1959) is an Indian [[paediatrician]] and clinical scientist known for her research on [[tuberculosis]] and HIV.<ref name=2015-Mint-ICMR>{{cite news|last1=Mehta|first1=Nikita|title=Soumya Swaminathan to take charge of Indian Council of Medical Research|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/15YIhftLoSDQDJQCpQ7OEP/Soumya-Swaminathan-to-take-charge-of-Indian-Council-of-Medic.html|work=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]]|date=7 August 2015}}</ref> Swaminathan served as Secretary to the [[Government of India]] for Health Research and Director General of the [[Indian Council of Medical Research]] (2015–2017), where she prioritized evidence-based health policy, research capacity building in medical schools, and strengthening south-south partnerships in health sciences.<ref>{{cite web |title=Soumya Swaminathan |url=https://tdr.who.int/global-health-matters-podcast/women-in-science/dr-soumya-swaminathan |website=Women in Science, TDR-WHO |access-date=6 March 2025}}</ref> From October 2017 to March 2019, she was the deputy director general of programmes (DDP) at the [[World Health Organization]].<ref name=2017-Mint-WHO-DGG>{{cite news|last1=Sharma|first1=Neetu Chandra|title=Dr Soumya Swaminathan appointed WHO's deputy director general for programmes|url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/sqdmfpFY5HS78Nbk6vACWL/Dr-Soumya-Swaminathan-appointed-WHOs-deputy-director-genera.html|work=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]]|date=4 October 2017}}</ref><ref name=2017-Hindu-WHO-DGG-Interview>{{cite news|last1=Kannan|first1=Ramya|title=Focus should be on scaling up the use of innovations, says Soumya Swaminathan|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/focus-should-be-on-scaling-up-the-use-of-innovations/article19834947.ece|work=The Hindu|date=11 October 2017|language=en-IN}}</ref> Subsequently till 2022, she served as the chief scientist at the [[World Health Organization]] under the leadership of [[Director-General of the World Health Organization|Director General]] [[Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus]].<ref name=2019-Mint-WHO-CS>{{cite news|last1=Thacker|first1=Teena|title=WHO rejigs management, deputy D-G Soumya Swaminathan will now be chief scientist|url=https://www.livemint.com/politics/policy/who-rejigs-management-deputy-d-g-soumya-swaminathan-will-now-be-chief-scientist-1551935352794.html|work=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]]|date=7 March 2019}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Soumya Swaminathan was born in [[Chennai]],<ref>{{cite web|date=22 April 2020|title=Dr. Soumya Swaminathan|url=https://www.yaxisfoundation.org/blog/dr-soumya-swaminathan/|website=Y-Axis Foundation|access-date=23 February 2021|archive-date=16 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716185953/https://www.yaxisfoundation.org/blog/dr-soumya-swaminathan/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tamil Nadu, India. Swaminathan is the daughter of "Father of Green Revolution of India", [[M. S. Swaminathan]] and Indian educationalist [[Mina Swaminathan]].<ref name=2019-SciDev-WHO-CS>{{cite news|last1=Bhattacharya|first1=Papiya|title=Q&A: Soumya is currently the chairperson of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai. WHO's chief scientist rises above her father's legacy|url=https://www.scidev.net/global/health/role-models/q-a-who-s-chief-scientist-rises-above-her-father-s-legacy-1x.html|work=SciDev.Net|date=19 July 2019|language=en}}</ref> Swaminathan has two siblings, Madhura Swaminathan, a professor of [[economics]] at the [[Indian Statistical Institute]], [[Bangalore]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Madhura Swaminathan's Homepage |url=https://www.isibang.ac.in/~madhura/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=www.isibang.ac.in}}</ref> and Nitya Rao, a professor of [[Gender studies|gender]] and [[Development studies|development]] at the [[University of East Anglia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nitya Rao |url=https://nisd.ac.uk/core-team/nitya-rao/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=The Norwich Institute for Sustainable Development |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Swaminathan received an [[M.B.B.S.]] from the [[Armed Forces Medical College (India)|Armed Forces Medical College]] in [[Pune]]. She has an [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]] in [[pediatrics]] from [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi|All India Institute of Medical Sciences]] in New Delhi. She is a [[Diplomate of National Board]] from [[National Board of Examinations]]. As part of her training, from 1987 to 1989 Swaminathan completed a post-doctoral medical fellowship in [[neonatology]] and [[pediatric]] [[pulmonology]] at the [[Children's Hospital Los Angeles]] at the [[Keck School of Medicine of USC]].<ref name=2017-DHR-Secretary-Profile>{{cite web|title=Secretary Profile: Dr. Soumya Swaminathan|url=http://www.dhr.gov.in/about-us/secretary-dhr|website=Department of Health Research, MoHFW, Government of India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627002104/http://www.dhr.gov.in/about-us/secretary-dhr|archive-date=27 June 2017|date=6 April 2017}}</ref>

==Career==
===Early career===
From 1989 to 1990, Swaminathan was a research fellow (registrar) in the Department of Pediatric Respiratory Diseases at the [[University of Leicester]] in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Who is Dr. Soumya Swaminathan? Meet The First Indian Chief Scientist of WHO |first1=Anoushka |last1=Das |date=9 January 2021 |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/news/who-is-dr-soumya-swaminathan-meet-the-first-indian-chief-scientist-of-who/ |website=She The People |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref>

She then worked as a senior research officer (Supernumerary Research Cadre), Cardiopulmonary Medicine Unit, as well as an adjunct associate clinical professor at the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine at [[Tufts University School of Medicine]] in Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://medicine.tufts.edu/Education/Academic-Departments/Clinical-Departments/Public-Health-and-Community-Medicine/Faculty/Adjunct/Swaminathan-Soumya|title=Soumya Swaminathan, MD, MNAMS|author=ISITE Design|work=tufts.edu|access-date=3 September 2015|archive-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316011315/http://medicine.tufts.edu/Education/Academic-Departments/Clinical-Departments/Public-Health-and-Community-Medicine/Faculty/Adjunct/Swaminathan-Soumya|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1992, Swaminathan joined the [[National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis]] a/k/a Tuberculosis Research Centre, where she was Coordinator, Neglected Tropical Diseases. She later became the director of the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis.<ref name=2017-DHR-Secretary-Profile />

From 2009 to 2011, Swaminathan was coordinator of the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases in Geneva.

Until 2013, she was director, National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) in Chennai.

From August 2015 to November 2017, Swaminathan was director general of the [[Indian Council of Medical Research]] (ICMR) and secretary of the Department of Health Research (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare) for the Government of India.<ref name=2017-DHR-Secretary-Profile /><ref name=2017-ICMR-DG>{{cite news|title=Former Director Generals: Dr. Soumya Swaminathan 17.08.2015 - 30.11.2017|url=https://main.icmr.nic.in/former-dg|work=Indian Council of Medical Research|publisher=Government of India|date=2017}}</ref>

===Career with WHO===
From October 2017 to March 2019, Swaminathan was deputy director-general of the World Health Organization.<ref name=2017-Mint-WHO-DGG /><ref name=2017-Hindu-WHO-DGG-Interview />

In March 2019, Swaminathan became chief scientist of the World Health Organization, where she notably participated in regular twice weekly press briefings on the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name=2019-Mint-WHO-CS /> She has urged countries to conduct [[whole genome sequencing]] of the [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2|SARS-CoV-2]] virus more frequently and to upload sequences to the [[GISAID]] project.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mathur|first=Barkha|date=December 23, 2020|title=COVID-19 Pandemic: The New Variation Of SARS-CoV-2 Is Rapidly Replacing Other Strains, Says WHO's Soumya Swaminathan|work=NDTV|url=https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/covid-19-pandemic-the-new-variation-of-sars-cov-2-is-rapidly-replacing-other-strains-says-whos-soumya-swaminathan-54559/|access-date=December 24, 2020}}</ref>

In the preparations for the Global Health Summit hosted by the [[European Commission]] and the [[G20]] in May 2021, Swaminathan was a member of the event's High Level Scientific Panel.<ref>[https://global-health-summit.europa.eu/panel-scientific-experts_en Global Health Summit: Panel of Scientific Experts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727204104/https://global-health-summit.europa.eu/panel-scientific-experts_en |date=27 July 2022 }} [[European Commission]].</ref>

Starting April 1, 2025, she will be serving as one of [[National_University_of_Singapore|NUS]] Board of Trustees.<ref>https://news.nus.edu.sg/new-member-in-nus-board-of-trustees-2025 NUS appoints new member to its Board of Trustees</ref>

==Selected research==
Swaminathan's areas of interest are paediatric and adult [[tuberculosis]] (TB), epidemiology and pathogenesis, and the role of nutrition in HIV-associated TB.<ref name=2017-DHR-Secretary-Profile /><ref>{{cite web |title=Q and A with former Fogarty trainee Dr Soumya Swaminathan of the Indian Council of Medical Research - Fogarty International Center @ NIH |url=https://www.fic.nih.gov/News/GlobalHealthMatters/january-february-2017/Pages/soumya-swaminathan-indian-council-medical-research.aspx |website=Fogarty International Center |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref>

While at the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis in Chennai, Swaminathan started a multi-disciplinary group of clinical, laboratory and behavioural scientists studying various aspects of TB and TB/HIV. Swaminathan along with her colleagues were among the first to scale up the use of molecular diagnostics for TB surveillance and care, to undertake large field trials of community-randomised strategies to deliver TB treatment to underserved populations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Das|first=Pamela|date=2016-03-19|title=Soumya Swaminathan: re-energising tuberculosis research in India|url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30008-3/abstract|journal=The Lancet|language=en|volume=387|issue=10024|page=1153|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30008-3|pmid=27025325|s2cid=11684448|issn=0140-6736|url-access=subscription}}</ref> She was part of the TB Zero City Project which aimed to create "Islands of elimination" working with local governments, institutions and grassroots associations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.advanceaccessanddelivery.org/chennai/|title=Site 1: Chennai, India — Advance Access & Delivery|date=2017-02-16|access-date=2018-02-11|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216160415/http://www.advanceaccessanddelivery.org/chennai/|archive-date=2017-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Meet Soumya Swaminathan, first ever Indian to hold second highest position in WHO |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/soumya-swaminathan-who-world-health-organisation-deputy-director-general-scientist-1057560-2017-10-04 |work=[[India Today]] |date=October 4, 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2021, Swaminathan was also appointed to the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP), an expert group chaired by [[Patrick Vallance]] to advise the [[G7]] presidency held by the [[Government of the United Kingdom|government]] of Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]].<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-global-partnership-launched-to-fight-future-pandemics New global partnership launched to fight future pandemics] [[Government of the United Kingdom]], press release of April 20, 2021.</ref>

==Other activities==
* [[Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics]] (FIND), member of the board of directors (since 2023)<ref>[https://www.finddx.org/publications-and-statements/ayoade-alakija-takes-up-find-chair-as-soumya-swaminathan-and-malebona-precious-matsoso-also-join-find-board-of-directors/ Ayoade Alakija takes up FIND Chair as Soumya Swaminathan and Malebona Precious Matsoso also join FIND Board of Directors] [[Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics]] (FIND), press release of 27 January 2023.</ref>
* [[Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research]], Member of the Board<ref>[https://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/about/board/en/ Board] [[Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research]].</ref>
* [[Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations]] (CEPI), non-voting member of the board (until 2022),<ref>[https://cepi.net/about/whoweare/ Board] [[Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations]] (CEPI).</ref> voting member of the board (since 2023)<ref>[https://cepi.net/news_cepi/cepi-board-membership-updates-2/ CEPI Board membership updates] [[Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations]] (CEPI), press release of 5 April 2023.</ref>
* GISAID, Member of the SAC Nomination Committee (since 2023)<ref>{{Cite web |title=GISAID - Governance |url=https://gisaid.org/about-us/governance/ |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=gisaid.org |language=en}}</ref>
* Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership ([[GARDP]]), non-voting member of the board of directors<ref>[https://gardp.org/team/ Board of Directors] Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP).</ref>
* Global Coalition Against TB, member of the expert group<ref>[https://globalcoalitionagainsttb.org/expert-group-member/ Expert Group] Global Coalition Against TB.</ref>
* [[WomenLift Health]], member of the global advisory board<ref>[https://www.womenlifthealth.org/global-advisory-board Global Advisory Board] WomenLift Health.</ref>
* Advisor, [[Resource Group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health (REACH)]]<ref name="The Hindu">{{cite news |last1=The Hindu |title=India can lead efforts to find new TB vaccine, says WHO's former chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/need-for-new-vaccine-for-tb-says-former-who-chief-scientist/article66414408.ece |work=The Hindu |date=20 January 2023 |language=en-IN}}</ref>

==Awards==
* 2016: AstraZeneca Research Endowment Award, presented by the [[National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, S.A.S. Nagar]]<ref>{{cite web|title = Index of /silverjubilee|url = http://niper.ac.in/silverjubilee|website = niper.ac.in|access-date = 2016-02-19|archive-date = 16 February 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170216214254/http://niper.ac.in/silverjubilee/|url-status = dead}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Swaminathan is married to Ajit Yadav, an orthopedic surgeon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biospectrumindia.com/news/73/6949/biospectrum-awards-2003-life-time-achievement-award.html|title=BioSpectrum Awards 2003 - Life Time Achievement Award|website=www.biospectrumindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.gandhinagarclub.in/magazine/GNC_sep_17.pdf |title=Look WHO's New Deputy DG |page=5 |magazine=GNC Connect |date=September 2017 |volume=3 |issue=6 |access-date=11 February 2020 |archive-date=11 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211171625/http://www.gandhinagarclub.in/magazine/GNC_sep_17.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The couple has a daughter, Shreya Yadav.

==Selected works and publications==
{{Scholia|author}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Murray|first1=Christopher J L|last2=Barber|first2=Ryan M|last3=Foreman|first3=Kyle J|last4=Ozgoren|first4=Ayse Abbasoglu|last5=Abd-Allah|first5=Foad|last6=Abera|first6=Semaw F|last7=Aboyans|first7=Victor|last8=Abraham|first8=Jerry P|last9=Abubakar|first9=Ibrahim|last10=Abu-Raddad|first10=Laith J|last11=Abu-Rmeileh|first11=Niveen M|last12=Achoki|first12=Tom|last13=Ackerman|first13=Ilana N|last14=Ademi|first14=Zanfina|last15=Adou|first15=Arsène K|last16=Adsuar|first16=José C|last17=Afshin|first17=Ashkan|last18=Agardh|first18=Emilie E|display-authors=3|title=Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 306 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 188 countries, 1990–2013: quantifying the epidemiological transition|journal=The Lancet|date=November 2015|volume=386|issue=10009|pages=2145–2191|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61340-X|pmid=26321261|url= |pmc=4673910|doi-access=free}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q24170269|y}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Forouzanfar|first1=Mohammad H|last2=Alexander|first2=Lily|last3=Anderson|first3=H Ross|last4=Bachman|first4=Victoria F|last5=Biryukov|first5=Stan|last6=Brauer|first6=Michael|last7=Burnett|first7=Richard|last8=Casey|first8=Daniel|last9=Coates|first9=Matthew M|last10=Cohen|first10=Aaron|last11=Delwiche|first11=Kristen|last12=Estep|first12=Kara|last13=Frostad|first13=Joseph J|last14=KC|first14=Astha|last15=Kyu|first15=Hmwe H|last16=Moradi-Lakeh|first16=Maziar|last17=Ng|first17=Marie|last18=Slepak|first18=Erica Leigh|display-authors=3|title=Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013|journal=The Lancet|date=December 2015|volume=386|issue=10010|pages=2287–2323|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00128-2|pmid=26364544|url= |pmc=4685753|doi-access=free}} {{Wikidata+icon|Q30358426|y}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=Philip R |last2=Arora |first2=Narendra |last3=Dowling |first3=William |last4=Muñoz-Fontela |first4=César |last5=Funnell |first5=Simon |last6=Gaspar |first6=Rogerio |last7=Gruber |first7=Marion F. |last8=Hacker |first8=Adam |last9=Henao-Restrepo |first9=Ana Maria |last10=Plotkin |first10=Stanley |last11=Rees |first11=Helen V. |last12=Smith |first12=Dean K. |last13=Swaminathan |first13=Soumya |title=Making more COVID-19 vaccines available to address global needs: Considerations and a framework for their evaluation |journal=Vaccine |date=September 2022 |volume=40 |issue=40 |pages=5749–5751 |doi=10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.07.028 |pmid=35941036 |pmc=9343170 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362260265|doi-access=free }}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite web|last=Bhattacharya|first=Papiya|date=26 October 2019|title=WHO's first chief scientist talks about her journey, interest in TB and her father MS Swaminathan|url=https://scroll.in/article/941359/whos-first-chief-scientist-talks-about-her-journey-interest-in-tb-and-her-father-ms-swaminathan|access-date=2021-11-26|website=Scroll.in}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Soumya Swaminathan}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190418043128/https://www.who.int/dg/who-headquarters-leadership-team Soumya Swaminathan] at [[World Health Organization]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swaminathan, Soumya}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi alumni]]
[[Category:COVID-19 researchers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences]]
[[Category:HIV/AIDS researchers]]
[[Category:Indian Council of Medical Research]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in England]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Indian medical researchers]]
[[Category:Indian paediatricians]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women medical doctors]]
[[Category:Keck School of Medicine of USC alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine]]
[[Category:Scientists from Chennai]]
[[Category:University of Madras alumni]]
[[Category:Women pediatricians]]
[[Category:World Health Organization officials]]

Soumya Swaminathan - Revision history

MargretGerken at 18:48, 2 May 2026