India, June 1 -- Only two Indian women have ever been elected Fellows of the Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific academy with more than 400 years of continuous existence. Coincidentally, both Gagandeep Kang and Soumya Swaminathan became household names during the Covid-19 pandemic. As chief scientist at the World Health Organisation, Swaminathan was the familiar, measured, reassuring voice of science on television screens around the world.

A paediatrician by training, Swaminathan began her career researching tuberculosis and HIV. She bears the legacy of her father M.S. Swaminathan-widely regarded as the architect of India's Green Revolution-and also of her mother Mina Swaminathan, a pioneer in early childhood development who hel...