Suniti Solomon
A pioneer of #AIDS research & treatment in India. She battled against the stigma attached to #HIV patients, was as a great leader & scientist who not only saved, but improved countless lives.
Featuring artwork by Arghya Manna & words by Dr. Sumbul Jawed Khan, Sci-Illustrate Stories. Set in motion by Dr. Radhika Patnala.
When Suniti Solomon, M.D., (1938–2015) succumbed to pancreatic cancer on July 28th, 2015, the global community mourned the loss of a stalwart of AIDS research and treatment in India. The glowing obituaries published in all major national and international publications spoke of her outstanding work on curbing the disease that saved and improved countless lives.
Suniti was raised with her seven brothers in the illustrious Gaitonde family of Chennai, who were involved in the leather business. A bright student she obtained her medical degree from the Madras Medical College. There she met Solomon Victor, a cardiac surgeon, and got married before they both moved to the U.K. for further studies. A Pathology residency in the U.S. followed this, and in 1973 they both returned to India.
In the 80’s when AIDS was becoming a pandemic elsewhere, Suniti was working as a professor of Microbiology at the Madras Medical College and reading about the disease in science journals. She wanted to test if the disease was affecting anyone in India, although the general perception denied the possibility. She convinced one of her Ph. D. students, Sellapam Nirmala, to take up the study. They began by looking at high-risk populations, and as India did not have an openly homosexual community, they started focusing on sex-workers. In 1986, they sampled blood from about 100 people, and 6 of them turned out to be HIV positive. These were the 1st reported cases of AIDS in India, which came as a rude, but timely awakening! The Indian Council for Medical Research, the then Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and the state health minister were promptly informed. The govt. sprung into action to avert a possible national catastrophe.
Initial efforts to conduct AIDS research were fraught with many struggles, as the associated ‘immorality’ kept the patients from reporting it, and the doctors from treating it. However, Suniti could not see the suffering of her patients and was committed to their cause despite the opposition. Overcoming taboos wasn’t new to Suniti! She crossed cultural and religious lines to marry her Tamil Christian husband despite being a Marathi Hindu herself, showing her strength of personality & a forward looking outlook in her times. . In 1993 she founded the Y.R. Gaitonde Center for AIDS Research & Education (or YRG CARE) in Chennai, dedicated to her father, after taking an early retirement form her academic position. It was India’s first non-profit HIV counseling & testing facility, with a mandate to educate doctors about HIV & work to fight against the social stigma attached.
She has published more than 100 articles on HIV epidemiology, prevention, care & the associated socio-economic issues. She was a strong proponent of bioethics training, and wanted to fight against research misconduct. She won countless national & international awards honoring her 30 years of service to the cause. Most notably she was posthumously awarded ‘Padma Shri’, one of the highest civilian awards by the Indian Govt., in 2017.
There was a fear after the 1st discovery of AIDS case in India, that with the poor infrastructure the country won’t be able to handle its spread. But as Michael Specter, a correspondent at The New Yorkerhad aptly noted, “Many researchers predicted a crisis unlike those in any other nation. But it never happened — in part because India had Suniti Solomon,..”.
She had said that “what was killing people with AIDS more was the stigma & discrimination”. This humanitarian approach of hers is depicted in the recent documentary movie ‘Lovesick’ (2018), that shows Suniti’s efforts in helping HIV carriers find life partners, through a molecular biology based ‘matchmaking’ approach of testing their blood for CD4 levels (a marker for immunity) and viral loads. Thus the biggest battle according to her was to mainstream the conversation around HIV such that HIV can be treated as a general infection, and give HIV positive people a chance to lead a dignified life.
Suniti was a person with a rare combination of gentle demeanor, yet firm determinations, sensitive to her patients suffering, yet brave enough to fight for the cause of the marginalized & disenfranchised sections of the society. She will always be remembered as a great leader & mentor, a passionate & dedicated scientist, & as a fervent activist.
Sources:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)00772-2/fulltext
About the author:
DR. SUMBUL JAWED KHAN
Content Editor, Women In Science, Sci-Illustrate Stories.
Dr. Khan received her Ph. D. in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, where she studied the role of microenvironment in cancer progression and tumor formation. During her post-doctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Khan investigated the gene regulatory networks that are important for tissue regeneration after damage or wounding. Dr. Khan is committed to science outreach activities, to make scientific research understandable and relatable to the non-scientific community. She believes it is essential to inspire young people to apply scientific methods to tackle the current challenges faced by humanity.
About the artist:
ARGHYA MANNA
Contributing Artist, Sci-Illustrate stories
Arghya Manna is a comics artist and illustrator. He began his biomedical career as a doctoral student at Bose Institute, India working on Tumor Cell migration in a 3D environment, but soon left wet lab research and his doctoral studies to find refuge in art. Finding himself becoming increasingly passionate about visual science communication through comics, he now is an History of Science enthusiast and showcases his work through his blog “Drawing History of Science”.
Arghya, through his artwork, aspires to engage the readers of history and science with the amalgamation of images and texts.
About the series:
These are stories I wish I knew when I was growing up.
There are the stories of persistence, ingenuity, calibre, scientific achievement against all odds.
These are the stories of Indian women who were the pioneers of Science in India.
These are stories of lives that must be remembered and cherished.
Sci-Illustrate stories is proud to add a new chapter in our WIS series where through the words of the sci-illustrate team, complimented by the artwork of a very talented Indian artist Arghya Manna, we will be revisiting and highlighting the lives of some incredible Indian women in science.
— Dr. Radhika Patnala, Series Director
