New Delhi: Dr Kamala Sohonie was the first Indian woman who received a PhD degree in a scientific discipline. Known for her discovery of the enzyme, 'Cytochrome C', Sohonie is revered as the legend who helped in forging a path for future Indian women to break glass ceilings and realise their dreams in fields considered male bastions. It’s her 112th birth anniversary on Sunday, June 18, and a Google Doodle marks the day by celebrating the biochemist who did pioneering work in the field.
Who Was Dr Kamala Sohonie?
When Dr. Kamala Sohonie achieved her PhD, women were highly underrepresented in scientific disciplines in India. She broke many barriers and fought gender bias to pursue their dreams and inspired others.
Quoting “family historical records”, the Google citation says Sohonie was born in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on June 18, 1912. Her parents were chemists and were respected figures. She followed in the footsteps of her father and uncle, and studied chemistry and physics at Bombay University. She graduated in 1933, topping her class, and became the first woman to be inducted into the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). It was reported that stringent conditions were imposed on her during her first year, apparently because the institute (read its then director CV Raman) doubted the capabilities of women in science.
It is said she had been denied admission to pursue a Master’s degree by Raman, after which she sat in a protest against the Nobel laureate.
Sohonie not only managed to get permission to continue her research, but the IISc director was reportedly so impressed with her that the institute started to accept more women into their programme.
Master’s, PhD, Cytochrome C And Neera
In 1936, after studying for a few years the various proteins found in legumes and concluding that they boosted nutrition in children, Sohonie published her thesis and got her Master’s degree.
She earned a research scholarship at Cambridge University the next year.
Dr Sohonie went on to discover Cytochrome C, the enzyme that plays an important role in the electron transport chain occurring in plant and animal cells for energy synthesis. After returning to India, she continued her study of certain foods and then helped develop an affordable dietary supplement made from palm extract. This nutritious drink is called Neera, a good source of Vitamin C that has been proven to improve the health of pregnant women and malnourished children.
For her work on Neera, Sohonie received the Rashtrapati Award. She also became the first woman director at the Royal Institute of Science in erstwhile Bombay.