Dr Ram Nath Chopra was an indian medical service officer and a doyen of science and medicine of India. He is considered the 'Father of Indian Pharmacology' for his work on pharmaceuticals and his quest for self-sufficiency of India in drugs through the experimental evaluation of indigenous and traditional drugs. After service in the army, he established a research laboratory where he worked as a professor of pharmacology at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine established in 1921.

HIS Contribution to Healthcare Landscape in India ;

He undertook a systematic study of indigenous drugs of India. He tried to put Ayurveda and other indigenous systems of medicine on scientific footing by carrying out scientific studies of drugs mentioned in these systems. He aimed to make Indian pharmacology self-supporting by enabling India to utilise locally produced drugs. He succeeded in this monumental task by collaborating with people from allied disciplines such as chemists and botanists. His omnibus publication "Indigenous Drugs of India" remains the most important source of material on this topic. One of his better-known works is his study of the herb Rauwolfiaserpentina or the Sarpagandha of Ayurveda.

Change-Making Positions Held ;

* He conducted pioneering studies on herbal remedies including Rauvolfia Serpentina.

* He headed a Drugs Enquiry Committee of 1930 - 31 which examined the need for imports, control and legislation.

Laurels Brought to Dr Ram Nath Chopra ;

* Honoured as a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1934.

* Knighted in 1941.

Impact Brought in the Lives of Common Indians ;

His contribution to the field of Indian pharmacology is hence changed. He showed the Indian medical scientists the innovative ways to research the pharmaceutical sector. The pharmaceutical sector in India has undergone a sea change following the path elicited by him.