Archive · 10 Sep 2026
Kerala-born scientist Gopinath Balkrish Nair enriched Calcutta’s scientific tradition
Gopinath Balkrish Nair was a scientist who came to Calcutta from Kerala in 1977.
He studied germs that can cause diseases such as cholera.
He helped scientists understand a new cholera group called Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal.
He also researched Campylobacter and Vibrio parahaemolyticus.
His work helped explain how germs change and spread among people.
Nair taught many young scientists at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases.
He encouraged students to ask difficult questions instead of accepting easy answers.
He died at age 72 after being ill for many years, but his ideas and students continue his scientific legacy.
Gopinath Balkrish Nair, known as GB, died on Tuesday, September 8, aged 72, after a prolonged illness.
Nair moved from Kerala to Calcutta in 1977 and made the city his scientific home.
He mentored hundreds of young scientists at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases.
He helped discover and characterise Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal and studied other enteric pathogens.
His work earned him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize and election to the US National Academy of Sciences.
- Who
- Gopinath Balkrish Nair, a Kerala-born scientist known as GB.
- What
- Nair died after a prolonged illness and was remembered for his research on cholera and other enteric pathogens, as well as for mentoring scientists.
- When
- He died on Tuesday, September 8; the articles do not specify the year.
- Where
- He spent his final years in Thiruvananthapuram, while much of his scientific career was based in Calcutta.
- Why
- The article attributes his death to a protracted illness that had affected him for almost a decade.
- Age at death
- 72
- Arrival in Calcutta
- 1977
- Research institution
- National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases
- Major research contribution
- Discovery and characterisation of Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal
- Other research
- Campylobacter as an enteric pathogen in India and pathogenic lineages of Vibrio parahaemolyticus
- Honour
- Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize
- International recognition
- Election to the US National Academy of Sciences