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

, 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, re ...

. 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 Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), 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. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 1969,

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan 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 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

and

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, 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" ...

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 Vaa ...

, 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 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, and affiliated to NTR University of Health Sciences. It is the oldest medical college in Andhra Pradesh, and the sixth oldest in India. It is recognized by the Medical Council of ...

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

and then went on a scholarship to

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. 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 for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Academ ...

. He was Special Advisor to

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramalingaswami, Vulimiri 1921 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Indian medical doctors Indian pathologists Scientists from Andhra Pradesh Indian nutritionists Telugu people Fellows of the Royal Society All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi faculty 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