Zika virus and the subsequent mosquito-borne disease, Zika was a matter of much attention back in January the disease spread to US and 33 other countries causing birth defects. And to curb this spread, a group of researchers in the US, cam up with a team that would break down and decode the virus, one among which is Devika Sirohi, a 29-year-old doctoral student at Purdue University born in Meerut. Devika is one the youngest members in the team of 7 that was able to break through the structure of the virus, that will help in developing a cure for it.

Devika’s other teammate include postdoctoral research associates Zhenguo Chen, Lei Sun and Thomas Klose; biological sciences professor Michael G Rossmann, Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases director Richard J Kuhn, and Theodore C Pierson, chief of the viral pathogenesis section of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

She also added that, “When I first arrived in the US, I never expected to achieve this much. It has been five years now since I started my doctoral research and I will submit my thesis by the end of this year. The entire journey of discovering the structure of Zika was full of challenges, but all is well that ends well. Now that the structure has been determined, it will be easier to research further and combat the spread of the disease.”

Devika’s parents, mother Reena, being a pediatrician and father SS Sirohi, a pathologist were elated and extremely happy with her success.

He said, “It is a matter of pride not only for my family, because she is my daughter, but for the whole country that an Indian was part of the team that made this breakthrough.”

Devika has not only made her parents happy but all of India proud and received congratulatory notes from many people.

Congratulations to Ms Devika Sihori from Meerut who is part of the US team that has successfully decoded Zika virus.

— Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) April 6, 2016

Ms Sihori has not only made her family proud but also the country feels proud of her achievement. Congratulations to her family as well.

— Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) April 6, 2016

The achievement of Ms Devika Sihori highlights the importance of girl child education. Our focus should be on 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao'

— Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) April 6, 2016