Dr. Soumya Swaminathan is a pediatrician and global expert in tuberculosis and HIV research. She was the first Chief Scientist of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Previously, she was the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (2015-2017). Since February 2023, she has been the Chair of the nM. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). She is also the Principal Advisor to National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. She has an interest in One Health in all its ramifications. She currently co-chairs a global commission “Our Common Air” and serves on the Kofi Annan Commission on Food Security. She holds adjunct professorships at Karolinska University (Sweden) and Tufts University (US).