Vulimiri Ramalingaswami (8 August 1921 – 28 May 2001) was an Indian medical scientist, pathologist and

medical writer A medical writer, also referred to as medical communicator, is a person who applies the principles of clinical research in developing clinical trial documents that effectively and clearly describe research results, product use, and other medical i ...

. His pioneering research on nutrition got him elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

. He was also the director of

All India Institute of Medical Sciences The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. These institutes ha ...

and later on director general of

Indian Council of Medical Research The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Gove ...

and President of the Indian National Science Academy. He was regarded a teacher of international repute in the areas of nutritional deficiency. He has been honoured with Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award. by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1967 and

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1969,

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

and

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

by Government of India, KK Birla National Award, and Basanti Devi Amirchand Prize (ICMR) in 1966. Leon Bernard Foundation Award was presented to him by Sir Harold Walter, president of the 1976 World Health Assembly.

Early life

He was born in a Telugu speaking family in

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census, it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...

, Andhra Pradesh to V. Gumpaswami and V. Sundaramma. His father was a government servant. He received his medical education from

Andhra Medical College Andhra Medical College is a public medical college in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, and affiliated to Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences. It is the oldest medical college in Andhra Pradesh, the sixth oldest & one of the top medi ...

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

and then went on a scholarship to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He became the Director of the All India Institute of medical sciences(AIIMS). and served the premier institute for 10 years 1969–1979). He became the Director General of

, New Delhi. In remembrance of his great service, the Indian Government has decided to name the Indian Council of Medical Research building after him (Ramalingaswami Bhavan). He was also President of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three b ...

. He was Special Advisor to

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

and President of National Institute of Immunology. He has served as Chair of the International Task Force on Health Research for Development in Geneva (1990–93). He was Secretary-General of the International Conference on Nutrition, in Rome in December 1992. He was appointed to the Board of Governors of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada in 1999.

Fellowships

*Indian Academy of Sciences. *Indian National Science Academy. *National Academy of Medical Sciences. *National Academy of Sciences, USA⁷. *Royal College of Pathologists (London), UK. *Royal College of Physicians, UK. *Russian Academy of Medical Sciences *Royal Society of London, March 1986

Selected publications

# # #Ramalingaswami, V., Sriramachari, S., and Patwardhan, V. N., Ind. J. Med. Sci., 8, 433 (1954). # # # # # # # # #V. Ramalingaswami, Prevention of Micronutrient Deficiencies: Tools for Policymakers and Public Health Workers, The National Academies Press (1998). #V. Ramalingaswami, The Public health imperative of permanent elimination of iodine deficiency, 2000.

References

External links

Obituary
*https://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no3_supp/memoriam.html

*http://www.india.gov.in/myindia/images/ps_awards.pdf Telugu people Scientists from Visakhapatnam {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramalingaswami, Vulimiri 1921 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Indian medical doctors Indian pathologists Scientists from Andhra Pradesh Indian nutritionists Fellows of the Royal Society Academic staff of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Indian medical administrators Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine People from Srikakulam 20th-century Indian biologists People from Uttarandhra Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Medical Science Indian Council of Medical Research Directors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi Léon Bernard Foundation Prize laureates