Kamal Ranadive

Dr. Kamal Randive (born 8 November 1917 – 11 April 2001) was an Indian biomedical researcher who is known for her research in cancer about the links between cancers and viruses. She was a founding member of the Indian Women Scientists’ Association (IWSA).In the 1960s, she established India’s first tissue culture research laboratory at the Indian Cancer Research Centre in Mumbai.

Professional career

Kamal, on her return to India, rejoined ICRC and started her professional career as a Senior Research Officer. She was instrumental in establishing Experimental Biology Laboratory and Tissue Culture Laboratory in Bombay.From 1966 to 1970 she had assumed the mantle of the Director of the Indian Cancer Research Centre in an acting capacity. In the early 1960s, she along with her assistants (whom she had inducted into ICRC) in the fields of biology and chemistry, developed tissue culture media and related reagents. She was also responsible for establishing new research units in Carcinogenesis, Cell biology and Immunology. Her career achievements include research on the pathophysiology of cancer through the medium of animals which led to a further appreciation of causes of diseases such as leukaemia, breast cancer and Esophageal cancer. Another notable achievement was in establishing a link to the susceptibility of cancer and hormones and tumour virus relationship. Evolution of the leprosy vaccine was a result of her basic research on the bacteria related to leprosy. She was a great inspiration to Indian women scientists to work on cancer research, in particular on the subject cancer among women and children. One such project was on “Immunohematology of Tribal Blood” related to study of infants