Upendranath Brahmachari - a pioneer of tropical diseases

Viac o knihe

Upendranath Brahmachari, a pioneer in tropical medicine, was the first Indian nominated for the Medicine and Physiology Nobel Prize and was also proposed for the Fellowship of the Royal Society of London. He was closely associated with major scientific institutions in Calcutta, including the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Sciences, University of Calcutta, and the Indian Museum. He founded the Brahmachari Research Institute and held prestigious roles such as President of the Society of Biological Chemists in India, Vice President of the Physiological Society of India, and President of the Indian Science Congress Association. Brahmachari discovered a new form of kala-azar, which was named in various ways, including Brahmachari’s dermal leishmaniasis. He also had a new species of mosquitoes named after him. Notably, he created a special apparatus for intravenous injections of metallic antimony and was among the first Indians to produce pharmaceutical drugs using Western techniques. His most significant invention, urea stibamine, revolutionized kala-azar treatment, transforming a 90% death rate into a 90% cure rate, saving millions of lives in India and beyond. This book highlights key facts about Brahmachari’s life and reviews his scientific contributions.