Samir Kumar Saha (born 28 December 1955) is an eminent

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

and public health expert. He is the

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

, senior consultant and head of the department of Diagnostic Division of Microbiology at the

Dhaka Shishu Hospital Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital is a children's hospital in Bangladesh, located in the capital city of Dhaka. History The hospital was established in 1972, immediately following independence. It was funded by the late Professor Tofayel Ahmed, th ...

for children and also the executive director of The Child Health Research Foundation (CHRF) at the Bangladesh Institute of Child Health.

Education

Saha attended

Chandpur Government College Chandpur Government College ( bn, চাঁদপুর সরকারি কলেজ) is a college in Chandpur, Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest and renowned colleges in Chandpur as well as in Chittagong division. The college is located in C ...

. He earned his BSc. and MSc. from The

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

in 1983, and his PhD from the Institute of Medical Sciences of Banaras Hindu University,

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, in 1989.

Career

Saha is known for his research on

pediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

specializing in

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

and

enteric fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...

. He is focused on finding the true burden of these diseases, their causative organisms, drug resistance patterns and

serotype A serotype or serovar is a distinct variation within a species of bacteria or virus or among immune cells of different individuals. These microorganisms, viruses, or cells are classified together based on their surface antigens, allowing the epi ...

distributions. In 2017, Saha was the first scientist from a developing country to receive the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) award for his outstanding research in

Clinical Microbiology Medical microbiology, the large subset of microbiology that is applied to medicine, is a branch of medical science concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. In addition, this field of science studies various ...

. Following which he has been elected to Fellowship in the

American Academy of Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

. The same year Saha received the UNESCO Carlos J. Finlay Prize in Microbiology, along with Shahida Hasnain, also a renowned Pakistani microbiologist for research and work in the field of microbiology. The November 2017 edition of National Geographic Magazine published
Here’s Why Vaccines Are So Crucial
, an article revolving around the need and impact of vaccines in society and vividly highlighted the lifelong dedication of Saha's fight to beating

and other

pneumococcal infections A pneumococcal infection is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Streptococcus pneumoniae'', which is also called the pneumococcus. ''S. pneumoniae'' is a common member of the bacterial flora colonizing the nose and throat of 5–10% of healthy ...

in Bangladesh. After the publication of the article Saha was invited to attend a panel discussion on the various aspects of pneumococcal vaccines and vaccines in general, hosted and broadcast by

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

, and the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

at the International Vaccine Access Center, the

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...

, Baltimore, US.

Personal life

Samir Kumar Saha is microbiologist

Senjuti Saha Senjuti Saha is a Bangladeshi scientist at the Child Health Research Foundation (CHRF), and board member of the Polio Transition Independent Monitoring Board (TIMB) of the World Health Organization (WHO). She is known for her lead on decoding the ...

's father. His wife Dr. Setarunnahar Setara is a public health researcher. His youngest son is also a microbiologist by profession.

Achievements

Saha played a key role in implementing vaccines against two

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

that cause

and pneumonia in Bangladesh. It had a direct positive impact on the health of children in the country. As a leading researcher in pediatrics, he has been performing surveillance on invasive childhood diseases in Bangladesh for more than a decade. He has also led research into the resistance to treatment of some pneumococcal diseases. Saha along with his team designed and set up four sentinel hospital surveillance network in Bangladesh. The "community adjusted hospital-based surveillance" is a model of surveillance that records data of the burden of diseases at a population level. The surveillance data is generated on invasive childhood diseases caused by ''Streptococcus pneumoniae'', ''Haemophilus influenzae'', ''Salmonella typhi/paratyphi'', etc. Saha has published more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals, mostly exploring the topics of childhood pneumonia and meningitis.

Public health organizations

A member of

Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts The Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE) is a project of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and is composed of global experts in infectious diseases and vaccines. Established in December 2006, The Council seeks to raise awareness among policy ...

(PACE), he also heads the steering committee of the

Coalition Against Typhoid A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

(CaT) of the

Sabin Vaccine Institute Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin), located in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit organization promoting global vaccine development, availability, and use. Through its work, Sabin hopes to reduce human suffering by preventing the spread of vaccine-pre ...

. He is an associate of the Department of International Health of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and adjunct scientist of

International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research ICDDR,B (formerly known as the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh) is an international health research organisation located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dedicated to saving lives through research and treatment, ICDDR,B a ...

, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). He is also a member of the National Committee for Immunization Policies of the Government of Bangladesh.

Honors and awards

Saha has been recognized by numerous awards including: * In 2017,

American Society for Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It ...

(ASM) Award for Research in

. * In 2017,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Carlos J. Finlay Prize in Microbiology. * in 2021,Received

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

from Bangladesh government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saha, Samir Kumar 1955 births University of Dhaka alumni Banaras Hindu University alumni Bangladeshi microbiologists Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Living people Recipients of the Ekushey Padak