The unsung story of a Bengali scientist who played a crucial role in combating malaria in India, eradicating this deadly disease leaving an indelible mark on the nation’s fight against it.
Kishori Mohan Bandyopadhyay, a name that history had nearly forgotten, made Nobel Laureate Ronald Ross’ Malaria Breakthrough possible.
Born in Kolkata in 1877 to a family deeply rooted in education, he displayed an insatiable hunger for knowledge from a young age.
Drawn to the enigmatic world of science and its myriad mysteries, he chose to pursue his undergraduate studies in science at the prestigious Presidency College. Bandopadhyay graduated with flying colors in 1898, laying a solid foundation for his future endeavors.
But Bandyopadhyay was not content with merely acquiring knowledge; he aspired to harness it for the betterment of his nation.
It was during this pivotal phase in his life that fate brought him in close proximity to Sir Ronald Ross, a distinguished British medical doctor who would go on to win the Nobel Prize in 1902 for his groundbreaking work on the transmission of malaria.
In 1892, while actively engaging with doctors and the medical community in Kolkata, Ross’s fascination with malaria, particularly its mode of transmission from parasites to humans, began to manifest.
Ross’s pioneering work required extensive testing of the blood of malaria patients, meticulous observations of female Anopheles mosquitoes, and much more. This is where Bandyopadhyay’s unique skills came into play.
With unwavering determination, he scoured the nearby villages of Kolkata and Madras, tirelessly seeking out malaria patients and bringing them to Ross’s laboratory. Here, under Ross’s guidance, he collected crucial blood samples from these individuals.
By 1899, he had not only unlocked the mystery of how female Anopheles mosquitoes acted as vectors in transmitting malaria to humans but had also unraveled the transmission cycle of the disease in birds, a monumental breakthrough.
The year 1902 marked a historic milestone in the realm of medicine when Ronald Ross was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology. His groundbreaking work had illuminated the path of malaria research and methods to combat the disease.
However, amidst the jubilation in the scientific community, there remained an unsung hero—Bandyopadhyay. His relentless dedication and invaluable contributions had languished in obscurity, overshadowed by the limelight cast upon Ross.
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