Dr Soumya Swaminathan was appointed as the deputy director general of programmes (DDP) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday. Swaminathan is currently the director general of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) which is an apex body in India for biomedical research. Widely known for her research on Tuberculosis, as per the report by PTI, Swaminathan would be working under Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus who took over this July. WHO announced the leadership team yesterday on the official Twitter account and wrote, “Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (@doctorsoumya) will be WHO Deputy Director General for Programmes.”

Her appointment as DDP is very interesting as her position is the second highest position in the global body. Here is all you need to know about who is Soumya Swaminathan:

• Soumya Swaminathan is a 58-year-old paediatrician and a clinical scientist.
• She is the daughter of MS Swaminathan who, as per the report by PTI, is an acclaimed geneticist and the father of the green revolution.
• Swaminathan is currently the director general of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for over two years now, reported PTI.
• She is known for her research on tuberculosis.
• She was earlier the director of the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai.
• In the past, she had also worked with UNICEF from 2009 to 2011 as Coordinator of the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) in Geneva, reported the Indian Express.
• She has also received her academic training in India, United Kingdom, and the United States.
• She also has more than 250 peer-reviewed publications in her name.