New Delhi, Delhi, India

Gagandeep Kang is the first Indian woman scientist getting selected as FRS in 359 years of history of this prestigious scientific academy. She has been acclaimed for her key role in the development of India's first indigenous vaccines for Rotavirus infections.  

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Currently working as the Executive Director of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad, Gagandeep Kang told WION that science that we do is incremental and not in the transforming field. 

Hence she is worried about the state of science in India which needs to be changed structurally. Here are some of the excerpts of the conversations.

WION: How did you begin working on Rotavirus infections? How did the idea of developing a vaccine come about? Can you, in short, describe your journey?

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KANG: I started working on Rotavirus about a little over 20 years ago. There had been somebody on our department who looked upon the cause of diarrhoea in children and so they identified that Rotavirus was the top cause of diarrhoea. The others were bacterial causes and so I decided on work in it.

In terms of developing a vaccine, I think everybody in the Rotavirus field, from the late 1970s onwards, has been trying working on the vaccine. Hence, I can't say that I had developed the vaccine, rather I had worked upon the one that has been already developed.

WION: As a Royal society member you have joined the league of the likes of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. How does it feel?

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KANG: Well, I have been elected to the fellowship of the Royal Society and that is an honour for any scientist, whether in the UK or as a foreign member or in any part of the world. I think Issac and Darwin were known for their fundamental discoveries and the kind of work that I do is more in the developing phase, like in the way of testing and prevention. So, "I think that I am not a discoverer but a developer", and hope that what I develop is useful for the people in our country.

WION: As a scientist Is there one thing you’re currently working on or has been in the past that kept or keeps you awake at nights?

KANG: I worry about the state of science in India. We have such wonderful and bright young people and so would like to see more strong science coming from our country. What tends to happen is that most of the science that we do is incremental and not in the transforming field. This can only happen when we have enthusiastic people working together on big problems, understanding the fact that many times we may fail, but when we would succeed it would be a success in something that really matters. So, there are many things that need to be changed in our system structurally for doing science in India.

WION: How would you sum up your scientific voyage from India to Britain (FRS)? Do you find the difference in scientific approaches and temper between Indian and foreign scientific institutions and in what sense?

KANG: I wouldn't feel like answering this question in relation to FRS, but in the last 30 years that I have been working and got an opportunity to work in the US and UK. The environment is very different as compared to that in India. The biggest difference I think I saw was the " appreciation factor" between countries. In India, it is always like "Oh! This is wrong, " You should have done it that way and blah blah!. Hence, Praise is a very rare thing in our country which comes at a very late stage. We really do not appreciate the efforts people love putting in. As when you are appreciated, your love for the work becomes twice and the results are out in no big time. So, I think that encouragement and curiosity towards everything need to be given a second chance for better results, especially in science.

WION: You are referred to as Vaccine Godmother. How does it stick to you? And are also working on any other invention that would add more feathers to your cap?

KANG: (Shares laugh), I don't think that I am a Vaccine Godmother. It's just that I have been trying to work with the vaccines industry in the past few years to identify what problems are encountered in India. There are many things that are different in India in terms of regulations of vaccines as compared to other parts of the world. The reason for that is our Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, under which all drugs and vaccines are regulated and treats vaccines as if they are drugs. So the testing pathway in India is unnecessarily complicated in some ways or the other. So, our vaccines getting on to the global market in science to be developed are slowed down by its processing. Hence this is the one thing that I have been trying to work on and smooth out the fast way in the development of the new vaccines.

If you ask me what I am working on now, there is a typhoid conjugate vaccine for which we do not have a national policy on typhoid. Hence with my colleagues, we are trying to estimate how much typhoid is there in our country as it is a disease which comes and goes. I think there is a very deep hidden burden of typhoid and by the next year, we should have accurate estimates so that we can get developing policies of typhoid vaccination in India.

WION: Who or what inspired you to become a scientist? Does being a woman director bring about unique challenges?

KANG: My father is my inspiration for becoming a scientist. He was an engineer while my mother is a teacher. Both of them together are very encouraging. He told me and my sister that we have the ability to become anything that we want to be. So for me, Curiosity was one factor that has always driven me. I was reading with experimenting with my father that naturally lead me pursuing science. Then, I wanted to become a medical scientist which I am today.

Being a woman director, challenges are there at every stage of life as people don't accept a woman in a place where they are in leadership. So, you always have to stay very very strong and deliver your message across in a way without being rude.

WION: Vaccine has become an integral part of our lives. At times it seems even overkill for a layman especially in terms of commercialisation. ( like the number of vaccines that is prescribed for a child nowadays and the money that one has to incur), like measles etc.

Is there a way to control that?

KANG: I don't think that we need to work much on Measles vaccine as it is already a very good vaccine. The only problem is that people are not getting the vaccine. so, if you have people who are negative about the vaccine will most probably influence other people to not have them. Hence it can reach a situation where adults are making its deficiency in children who acquire this disease at a very fast pace. Once it spreads to the community, it can create a very serious situation where most does not understand the importance of public health.

The measles vaccine is already a commercialized vaccine, there are many versions of it. What we need is an order to deliver the vaccine both in the public and private system to ensure that all children everywhere get the doses. Hence, it is not about commercialization but the private provider of vaccinations.

WION: There is a deeply chauvinistic society where women are not much welcomed in the field of science.

One change that will hugely benefit the young women scientists who are just making their way in?

KANG: I think being able to provide flexible working hours for women will really change the mindset. In today's world, it is all about getting the job done. In science, physical inner space is not much required. What needs to be focused on is to always keep reading, experimenting and exploring especially for young women. Also making them responsible and accountable for their own work would be the best thing for them to step in and explore.

WION: Being an FRS member now, what kind of specific obligations and commitments does it bring?

KANG: The fellowship in itself recognizes you as a contributor to science. Once you join fellowship, there are obligations and continuous promotion of doing high quality of science. In addition to that Royal society also have a number of activities that are related to broadening the reach of science. Much if they do is through journals and meetings. So, these are the things that I had joined before my fellowship which in itself is very prestigious and convened by the best scientists of the world to deliberate on the topics that are often important in our field.

WION: Other than labs, which is the one place you often visit?

KANG: Going home to my mother in Delhi from Faridabad is the one place that I often visit. When I came to Delhi, I thought that I would stay with my mother here but Delhi's awful traffic made me changed my decision and so I decided to visit her every time from Faridabad to her place and have a cup of tea with her as I think nothing could be much better than having a tea with your mother.

WION: You are the first Woman scientist of India. One advice that you want to give young generations and females who think of pursuing their career as a scientist?

KANG: I hope that I will not be the only Indian woman scientist from India, but the league is continued by many youths and females making their way in.

The two things that are very important is to be passionate and committed to your work. As a scientist, one thing that is a must is to never stop exploring. Well, this goes for all even if you are not a 'lab person'.