Leading Indian scientist Soumya Swaminathan was formally inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London on Saturday.She follows her father—the legendary agricultural scientist and Bharat Ratna MS Swaminathan to the oldest science academy of the world.At her induction, Soumya signed in the same register that bears her father’s signature, and also that of eminent scientist Issac Newton.“Honoured to be inducted into the Royal Society today, the oldest Science Academy in the world. Was nice to meet the 2026 cohort, listen to the great science being done in all parts of the world, and see the page from the register in 1973 where my father signed,” she said.A former Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation (WHO) and former Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Soumya is currently principal advisor to the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme. In her role, she is helping shape policy and strategy to accelerate India’s efforts to eliminate tuberculosis.On May 20, Soumya became only the second Indian woman scientist to be elected a Fellow to the Royal Society in its 400 years of history. The first was vaccinologist Gagandeep Kang, who was elected in 2019.