Field: Nanoparticles

She is a woman of grit & determination and is an example self made person in true sense. she fought against hard times and her difficult fate to reach to the zenith of her career. Let us know about her.

Qamar Rehman is an Indian Scientist who has worked extensively with respect to the physiological effects of nanoparticles. She is known internationally for her work on asbestosis, the effects of slate dust and other household and environmental particulate pollution and means for improving occupational health.   She is the first Indian to receive this honor from Rostock University, Germany a 600-year-old university.

She belonged to a traditional Muslim family in Shahjahanpur and as a child wanted to be a doctor after seeing her mother being treated by a physician. But her family did not approve this dream of her and she was forced to marry early. Unfortunately , her marriage was so difficult to sustain that she had to take the most difficult path of quitting the relationship . She came back to her parent’s home with her daughter. She decided to join M.Sc. in Physical Chemistry at Saint John’s College at Agra where her father was posted as Commissioner. Things were difficult to manage as a single mother but still she did her best. After that she had the opportunity to join as a Chemistry lecture at Karamat Husain Muslim Girls College, Lucknow . But she aspired to do more and one day met Prof. P.S. Krishnan, a well-known Biochemist, a legend in his field in her college and requested to guide her for her Ph.D. He did not agree first, but later she convinced him with her resilience and dedication. She understood very early that women have to work twice in any male dominated field if they have to survive. And she exactly did the same. She has a profound experience in toxicology, a field in which she works on a wide scale. Her main field of research is the toxicity of fibers, particles and nanoparticles. Her studies have revealed the health hazards caused due to such toxic particles in both organised and unorganised sectors . She has conducted in depth studies in asbestos mining
areas, which includes, monitoring identification of asbestos varieties and complete medical examination along with specific biomarkers for risk assessment. An extensive research on women
and their occupational hazards was conducted, highlighting specific problems in different organized and unorganized sectors wherewomen workers are exposed to toxic chemicals.

She has been invited to give talks and keynote addresses in the national and international conferences. She has always been supportive of young scientists and has a vision to help occupationally venerable population.

She fulfilled the role of a mother and her daughter also has made her own name in her field.

It is easy for me to go on and on and list down all her achievements. But can we ever take a moment to think , how brave are such personalities who took life head on and never bowed down! I salute her with all my heart.

My one line take away: Nothing can stop you, if you do not let it stop you!

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PS: I have planned to take up non-fiction this year as my theme for the A2Z challenge, where every day in the month of April ( except Sundays) I will be writing about women in the stream of science and their contributions.  Disclaimer -The information collected is from different sources available online.

The main objective is to draw inspiration and share information about such great lives who did it, despite all difficulties in their life.

Love,

Chinmayee

I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z