Agrawal
educator geneticist immunologist physician
Shyam Swarup Agarwal was born on July 5, 1941, in Bareilly, India, to Satya Swarup and Shyam Dulari Agarwal. Bareilly was an important urban center in Uttar Pradesh, while Lucknow provided the educational and medical institutions in which his professional life developed.
He married Pramila Das, a pathologist, on June 11, 1971. They had two children, Rama and Rahul. Agarwal died in Lucknow on December 2, 2013.
Agarwal earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Lucknow University in 1958, studying at its Canning College. Lucknow University, founded in 1921, was one of the principal centers of higher education in northern India, while Canning College had been an important institution in the region since the nineteenth century.
He received the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with honors from King George Medical College in 1963 and a Doctor of Medicine with honors from the same institution in 1966. King George Medical College, now King George's Medical University, was a major North Indian center for medical teaching and clinical training. He later obtained postgraduate research experience through an International Agency for Research on Cancer fellowship at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, where he worked in the laboratory of Baruch S. Blumberg on genetics and immunology.
Agarwal began his academic career at King George Medical College in Lucknow, serving as a lecturer in medicine from 1970 to 1973 and as a reader from 1973 to 1986. During this period he developed research and teaching programs in medical genetics, immunology, internal medicine, and related areas. King George Medical College was a leading medical institution in Uttar Pradesh and later became part of King George's Medical University.
At the newly established Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, Agarwal helped establish the departments of medical genetics and clinical immunology. He served as professor and head of the departments from 1986 to 2001, was dean from 1986 to 1990, and served as director from 1993 to 1997 and again from 2000 to 2001. The institute was created as an advanced postgraduate medical and research center, and its early development included the introduction of specialized training in medical genetics and clinical immunology.
His research included DNA polymerase and DNA repair, lymphocyte biology, immunomodulation, malaria sero-epidemiology, genetic disease, and the clinical evaluation of Guggulipid, a hypolipidemic preparation developed by the Central Drug Research Institute. He participated in studies of the genetic effects associated with the Bhopal gas disaster and helped characterize Handigodu disease as an autosomal-dominant spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia. His work on Panax ginseng also examined the immunomodulatory effects of plant extracts.
After retiring from regular service at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Agarwal became director of the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer at the Tata Memorial Centre in Navi Mumbai from 2001 to 2004. ACTREC was established as the Tata Memorial Centre's research and advanced cancer-treatment facility. He subsequently served as an adviser and senior scientist associated with the Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow, and also held honorary research and academic responsibilities at Vivekananda Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences.
Agarwal helped establish medical genetics and clinical immunology as organized academic and clinical fields at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, including specialized postgraduate training in medical genetics.
His investigations of Handigodu disease identified it as an autosomal-dominant spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia, a distinct condition recognized in classifications of skeletal dysplasias.
He led clinical research on Guggulipid, a hypolipidemic preparation developed by the Central Drug Research Institute, contributing to its evaluation for commercial medical use.
His research on lymphocyte biology, DNA polymerase, DNA repair, immunomodulation, malaria, and human genetic variation produced a substantial body of scientific publications.
(Edited the medical genetics section and wrote its introdu...)
2012(Co-authored a clinical study evaluating Guggulipid, a pla...)
1986(Co-authored experimental research examining the immunomod...)
1984(Co-authored research on albumin polymorphism and human ge...)
1969(Co-authored a study of malaria serology and sero-epidemio...)
1985
Agarwal was a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the National Academy of Medical Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the Indian College of Physicians. He was also associated with the American Society of Human Genetics, the American Association of Immunologists, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the Indian Society of Human Genetics, the Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, the Indian Society of Immunology, and the International Society of Applied Biology.
These organizations connected his work with medical education, genetics, immunology, hematology, experimental biology, and the wider Indian scientific community. His fellowship of the major Indian science academies reflected recognition of his contributions to medical genetics, molecular biology, and scientific institution-building.
Fellow
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada , Canada
Fellow and later emeritus professor
National Academy of Medical Sciences , India
Elected fellow and later senior scientist
Indian National Science Academy , India
Elected fellow
Indian Academy of Sciences , India
1985
Founder fellow
Indian College of Physicians , India
American Society of Human Genetics , United States
American Association of Immunologists , United States
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology , United States
Life member
Indian Society of Human Genetics , India
Life member
Indian Society of Haematology and Blood Transfusion , India
Life member
Indian Society of Immunology , India
Founder
International Society of Applied Biology
Agarwal was married to Pramila Das, a pathologist. Their children were Rama and Rahul.
