Soumya Swaminathan

Soumya Swaminathan (Dr.), a paediatrician and global expert in tuberculosis and HIV research, recently served as WHO’s Chief Scientist and previously as Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (2015-2017). She assumed the role of Chairperson at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in February 2023. She is also the Principal Advisor to National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. She is a Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Medical Sciences (the U.K.), and all major science academies in India. She holds honorary doctorates from institutions such as Karolinska Institute, EPFL Lausanne, and McGill University, London. She currently co-chairs a global commission “Our Common Air” and serves on the Kofi Annan Commission on Food Security. She holds adjunct professorships at Karolinska University (Sweden) and Tufts University (the U.S.). She serves on the boards of Alliance Bioversity, Population Foundation of India, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Women Lift Health, among others. She is a member of the Governing Council of the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission, member of One Health and Climate Change Strategic Committee, Government of Tamil Nadu and Chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Her current focus is on addressing the health impacts of climate change, especially on women and children and food system transformations to strengthen nutrition security in India and regionally.