Tanmay Sanyal, assistant professor of zoology at Krishnagar Government College, is among 10 scientists from India and Denmark who have developed a first-of-its-kind mobile application capable of screening suspected beta-thalassemia carriers by analysing five haematological parameters from a routine complete blood count test.
The application, titled Susoka — Japanese for “action to explore” — computes the threshold values of haemoglobin and a few other parameters mandated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) before recommending the crucial HPLC test, which aims to analyse different haemoglobin variants in the blood. The HPLC test is used to find whether a person is suffering from diseases such as sickle-cell and
thalassemia.
A resident of Chakdaha in Nadia, Sanyal, 41, began his career at a high school in Phulia and gradually earned recognition in academic circles for his popularity
among students.
He is known for encouraging “No cost or Low cost” model-making as a tool to cultivate research instincts and inquisitiveness, with an approach that moves “from local-to-global”. His personal research has centred on
sustainable development goals in communities, environmental conservation, and wildlife awareness.
Sanyal’s work has also been recognised with the zoology teacher being honoured with the Global Teacher Award, along with 33 other educators selected from across the world, at a recent event
in Gurgaon.
Asked about his work, Sanyal, who also serves as an adjunct professor at Noble International University, Canada, said: “To be a learner is to never stop learning... I owe this award to my students who accepted my madness in materialising my ideas.”
Sanyal’s passion to tread a different path is evident at the Krishnagar Government College. He has been instrumental in creating a butterfly garden and planting heritage indigenous species such as tamal and jarul. Students say he regularly motivates them to think beyond textbooks.
“He inspires students to create murals to propagate conservation of biodiversity and also instil a research-oriented mindset,” said Samanjay Mukherjee, a third-semester BSc student.
Guruprosad Ghosh, another third-semester student, added: “The uniqueness of Tanmay sir is his focus on a local-to-global approach. He inspired us in using wetland, wasteland, developing awareness of solid waste management and reusing waste
food materials.”
Sanyal and his team also publish a magazine on nature titled Urmi, aimed at promoting scientific thinking through Bengali literature.
Debnath Palit, principal of Krishnagar Government College, who recommended Sanyal for the award, said: “He truly deserved the award.”
Apart from Sanyal, Asansol-based college teacher Jhuma Patra is the only other recipient from Bengal
this year.