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Chatterjee: A pioneer in research

krishbhut1

Every October, Breast Cancer Awareness month rolls around and we learn startling statistics about cancer and the impact that cancer has on the general population. Cancer treatments and therapies are discussed to increase conversation around improving and making them more efficient. 


One such key player in treating cancer is the drug Vinblastine, a drug used in chemotherapy. Vinblastine is derived from the Madagascar periwinkle plant; however, when the drug was first discovered, Dr. Sarah O’Connor, a [insert what kind of scientist/physician she is] spent years separating the compound currently used in cancer treatment. The basis of this process was derived from decades of research done by the renowned South Asian scientist Asima Chatterjee in the field of Botany which was then translated to medical research. 


Asima Chatterjee was an Indian organic chemist who painstakingly discovered novel compounds derived from native Indian plants that are now used in modern medicine. She was the first woman elected as General President of the Indian Science Congress and has won several prestigious awards such as the SS Bhatnagar, the CV Raman award, and the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in recognition of her contributions. 


She was born in Kolkata on September 23, 1917, a period when women were strongly discouraged from attending higher education. However, Chatterjee’s parents were different. Her mother strongly pushed her to go to school and pursue higher education after college, and her father was a passionate botanist who instilled his love of plants in his daughter and encouraged Chatterjee to do the same. 


In 1936, Chatterjee graduated with honors in chemistry from the University of Calcutta. She was 1 of 3 admitted women in the chemistry department. She pursued her PhD in organic chemistry and became the first woman to receive a doctorate of science (PhD) from a university in India.


After completing her education, Chatterjee left for the United States to research medicinal plants in the state of Wisconsin, due to a lack of funding and access to Indian research institutes. The grant she received was the equivalent of $1,000 a year today, which was not enough to fund her novel research ideas. Despite moving to the USA, Chatterjee strongly desired to conduct research in India and further India’s progress in science, while encouraging women in India to pursue research.. After moving back to India in the 1950s, Chatterjee started her lab and paid out of pocket to fund her research as well as the salaries of the students who worked in her lab. 


Dr. SC Prakashi, one of her PhD students, recalls: "Being one of her early Ph.D. students, I have closely witnessed her initial struggles to establish herself. Those were trying days for research, particularly in the most ill-equipped university laboratories with inadequate chemicals and meager financial assistance.”


In 1967, Chatterjee lost her biggest supporter in her husband as well as her father within four months. Unable to bear the grief, she suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. It took Chatterjee three months and the immense support of her colleagues and students to recover from her attack before she was slowly able to get back into the lab. 


In Chatterjee’s early days, engineering and science were seen as the domain of only men. She took the initiative to educate young girls in science by starting a school for them and training students to progress further in education. Her students are now well-known personalities in the industrial and educational sectors.

Chatterjee made groundbreaking strides in figuring out how to use plants to create therapies and drugs to help solve modern-day problems. Chatterjee spent years creating drugs, but her pivotal work led to the creation of Ayush-56, an anti-epileptic drug, and Ayush-54, an anti-malarial drug, that are still used today. 


Chatterjee published over 400 papers in her lifetime and paved the pathway for women in science to progress forward regardless of the barriers that stand in their way. Much of modern science owes its work to the efforts of Chatterjee in her small underfunded lab working tirelessly. 


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