Shyam Swarup Agarwal | |
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| Born | (1941-07-05)5 July 1941 Bareilly,United Provinces, British India |
| Died | 2 December 2013(2013-12-02) (aged 72) Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India |
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| Known for | Studies on Genetics and Molecular biology |
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Shyam Swarup Agarwal (5 July 1941 – 2 December 2013) was an Indian geneticist, immunologist and the director ofSanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI-MS), Lucknow. A former director of the Advanced Center for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) at theTata Memorial Centre, he was the pioneer of medical genetics and clinical immunology education in India. Known for his researches in the fields of genetics and molecular biology, he was an Emeritus Professor of theNational Academy of Medical Sciences, and an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies, namely, theIndian Academy of Sciences,National Academy of Sciences, India, and theIndian National Science Academy. TheCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him theShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 1986.[1][note 1]
Shyam Swarup Agarwal was born on 5 July 1941 inBareilly, an industrial city in the Indian state ofUttar Pradesh to Shyam Dulari and Satya Swarup Agrawal.[2] His undergraduate studies were at Caning College ofLucknow University and he completed the course in 1958. Subsequently, he pursued a medical profession after earning an honors degree of MBBS from King George’s Medical College (present-dayKing George's Medical University) in 1963, passing the examination winning the Chancellor's Gold Medal for Best Student and the Hewitt Gold Medal for securing first rank.[3] He continued at KGMU for his MD which he completed in 1967 and moved to the US for his post-doctoral studies on anInternational Agency for Research on Cancer fellowship where he worked at the laboratory ofBaruch Samuel Blumberg atFox Chase Cancer Center.[note 2] On his return to India in 1970, he joined his alma mater, KGMU, as a lecturer and served the institution till 1986 during which time he secured an FRCS from theRoyal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1976.[4] In 1986, he was invited bySanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI-MS) to establish a department for medical genetics and clinical immunology. He headed the department as a professor and served as its director during two terms, 1993–97 and 2000–01.[5] Hesuperannuated from regular service in 2001 but continued his work by joiningTata Memorial Centre as the director of the newly establishedAdvanced Center for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC). After three years of service, he moved out of Tata Memorial Centre in 2004 and was appointed as an adviser at theCentral Drug Research Institute. Simultaneously, he worked as an honorary director of Research and Academics at the Vivekanand Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences and was a Senior Scientist of theIndian National Science Academy from 2006 onwards.[6] He was also associated withFuture Earth, a non-governmental organization creating ecological awareness among people[7] and served as an independent director ofRegency Hospital, Kanpur.[8]
Agarwal was married to Pramila Das, a pathologist by profession, and the couple had a daughter, Rama and a son, Rahul.[citation needed] Agarwal died in Lucknow of a heart attack on 2 December 2013, at the age of 72.[3]
Agarwal's researches spanned the fields of medical genetics and molecular biology.[9][10] His early studies during his days atFox Chase Cancer Center were focused onDNA polymerase and its role in DNA synthesis which elucidated its stability and as well as the mechanism of DNA repair.[2] In 1984, Agarwal and his colleagues conducted studies onPanax ginseng and their work discovered theimmunomodulatory properties of the plant[3][4] which they revealed in an article,Immunomodulatory activity of Panax ginseng extract, published inPlanta Medica journal in December, the same year.[11] Researches on theseroepidemiology ofmalaria,[12] childhoodcirrhosis and itspolygenic inheritance and antenatal screening forthalassemia incidence were some of the other studies undertaken by him.[4]
Under the aegis of the Department of Clinical Immunology of SGPGI-MS, he undertook several projects of the Indian Council of Medical Research which included a study of the genetic effects in the wake of theBhopal Gas Tragedy of December 1984[13][note 3] and a study ofHandigodu syndrome prevalent in some parts ofKarnataka which he identified as autosomal-dominantspondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia. He also undertook a task forCentral Drug Research Institute (CDRI) when the institute developedGuggulipid,[15] ahypolipideamic agent produced from theAyurvedic drug,guggul.[16][17][18] He completed the clinical trials for thephytopharmaceutical preparation which was subsequently cleared by theDrug Controller General of India for commercial marketing.[19]
His researches have been documented by way of several articles in peer-reviewed journals;[20][note 4] the online article repository of theIndian Academy of Sciences has listed 171 of them.[21] Besides, he has also contributed chapters to books published by others,[22] and his work has been cited by a number of authors and researchers.[23] He also edited the Medical Genetics section of theAPI Textbook of Medicine (Ninth Edition, Two Volume Set) and wrote the introduction to the section.[24][25] On the academic front, he was a member of the expert panel set up by the Government of Uttar Pradesh for planning and establishment ofSanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences and when the institution was started in 1986, he became the founder head of the Department of Medical Genetics and Clinical Immunology.[2] His contributions were reported in the introduction of the first DM post-graduate programme in medical genetics in India when the course was introduced at SGPGI-MS in 1990. He was responsible for the establishment of the Department of Clinical Immunology at the institution and was also credited with efforts in establishing a Medical Genetics Unit at KGMU.[2]
TheCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded himShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards in 1986;[26] he received the Kamla Menon Research Award of theIndian Council of Medical Research the same year.[4] The Government of Uttar Pradesh honored him with Vigyan Ratna Award in 2000.[7] In between, the Indian Academy of Sciences elected him as their fellow in 1985[27] and he became an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy a decade later.[28] A founder fellow of the Indian College of Physicians,[29] he was an Emeritus Professor of the National Academy of Medical Sciences[13] and an elected fellow of theNational Academy of Sciences, India.[30][31] He was also a recipient of the Ranbaxy Research Award (1999)[3] and a life member of the Indian Institute of Immunology.[32]
Agarwal delivered two award orations of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, namely, Glaxo Oration (1992) and Gen. Amir Chand Oration.[3] He also delivered two lectures of the Indian Society of Hematology and Blood Transfusion;[2] J. B. Chatterjee Memorial Oration (1993) and J. B. Parekh Memorial Oration as well as two orations of the Indian National Science Academy, the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Lecture of 2003[33] and the Dr, T. S. Tirumurti Memorial Lecture of 2005.[34] The other award orations delivered by him included Unichem lecture of the Association of Physicians of India (1979), M. P. Mehrotra Oration of the Association of Physicians of India, UP chapter (1981), Lajwanti Madan Oration of the Uttar Pradesh chapter of theIndian Medical Association (1985), C. R. Krishnamurthy Oration (1997), Mathur–Mehrotra Oration ofSarojini Naidu Medical College (1998) and Bhatia–Misra Oration of King George Medical University (2000).[4] The Society for Indian Academy of Medical Genetics has instituted an annual award,Dr S S Agarwal Young Scientist Award, in his honor, to recognize excellence in research in medical genetics among young researchers.[35]
