Upendranath Brahmachari উপেন্দ্রনাথ ব্রহ্মচারী | |
|---|---|
 Sir Upendranath Brahmachari | |
| Born | 19 December 1873 |
| Died | 6 February 1946 (aged 72) |
| Alma mater |
|
| Spouse | Nani Bala Devi |
| Children | Phanindra Nath, Brahmachari Nirmal, Kumar Brahmachari |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medicine, Physician |
| Institutions |
|
| Doctoral advisor | Sir Gerald Bomford |
Rai Bahadur Sir Upendranath Brahmachari FRSM FRS (Bengali: উপেন্দ্রনাথ ব্রহ্মচারী; 19 December 1873 – 6 February 1946) was a leading Indian physician and scientist of his time.[1] He synthesised urea-stibamine (carbostibamide) in 1922 and determined that it was an effective treatment for kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis).
Brahmachari was born on 19 December 1873 in Sardanga village near Purbasthali, District Burdwan of West Bengal, India. His father Nilmony Brahmachari was a physician in East Indian Railways. His mother's name was Saurabh Sundari Devi. He completed his early education from Eastern Railways Boys' High School, Jamalpur. In 1893, he passed BA degree from Hooghly Mohsin College with honours in Mathematics and Chemistry. Thereafter he went to study Medicine with Higher Chemistry. He passed his master's degree in 1894 from the Presidency College, Kolkata. In M.B. Examination of 1900 of the University of Calcutta, he stood first in Medicine and in Surgery for which he received Goodeve and Macleod awards. He obtained his MD degree in 1902, and was awarded a PhD degree in 1904, for his research paper on "Studies in Haemolysis" both from the University of Calcutta.[2] In 1898, he married Nani Bala Devi.
In 1922, Brahmachari also discovered a new, deadly form of leishmaniasis. He called it dermal leishmanoid, marked by the appearance of sudden eruptions on the face of the patients without fever or other complaints. He observed it as a disease in partially cured cases of kala-azar, along with those who had no history of the disease at all.[3] It has since been termed as post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis.
He was awarded the title of Rai Bahadur and awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal, 1st Class by the Governor General Lord Lytton (1924),[4] In 1934, he was conferred a knighthood by the British Government (1934)[5]
Brahmachari was a nominee for the Nobel Prize twice in 1929[6] and five times in 1942[7] in the category of physiology or medicine but he never got the award and it was suspected that his ethinicity may have been the reason why the biased committee never gave him the award.[8] He was president of the 23rd session of the Indian Science Congress in Indore (1936). He was the president of the Indian Chemical Society, Calcutta (1936). He was honoured with the fellowships of the Royal Society of Medicine, London and the Indian National Science Academy as well as the President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for two years (1928–29).[9] He was also the vice-chairman of the board of Trustees of the Indian Museum.[10]
