Indian biologist and Padma Bhushan awardee Kamal Ranadive has been featured in Google doodle on November 8, 2021, on her 104th birthday.
The doodle by guest artist Ibrahim Rayintakath shows Dr. Ranadive in a lab with microscope and test tubes. "I wanted to make a piece that feels lively to look at, that would match Kamal's personality. My initial thoughts were around bringing this out, at the same time highlighting her field of achievements," said Rayintakath.
Dr. Ranadive, was born this day in 1917 in Pune as Kamal Samarath. A medical graduate, she pursued biology and went on to receive a doctorate in cytology, the study of cells, while working as a researcher in the Indian Cancer Research Center (ICRC).
After a brief stint in Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Ranadive established the country’s first tissue culture laboratory at ICRC.
As the director of the ICRC and a pioneer in animal modeling of cancer development, Ranadive was among the first researchers in India to propose a link between breast cancer and heredity and to identify the links among cancers and certain viruses.
Continuing this trailblazing work, Dr. Ranadive studied Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy, and aided in developing a vaccine. In 1973, Dr. Ranadive and 11 colleagues founded the Indian Women Scientists’ Association (IWSA) to support women in scientific fields.
She has published more than 200 scientific research papers on cancer and leprosy.
After her retirement, she worked in rural communities in Maharashtra, training women as healthcare workers and providing health and nutrition education.
She was awarded the Padma Bhushan for medicine in 1982. Dr. Ranadive passed away on April 11, 2001.
