Rustom Jal Vakil
Rustom Jal Vakil was a cardiologist from India who was awarded a Padma Bhushan for his contributions to medicine. He was the first Indian to win a Lasker Award.
Born in Bombay in 1911, Vakil completed his medical education in London. He pioneered the use of reserpine to control hypertension. Reserpine is derived from Indian Snakeroot, Rauwolfia serpentina, known in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as Pagal-ki-dawa. It was later explored as a treatment for schizophrenia.
