Narendra Modi meets Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus

September 27, 2014 07:32 am | Updated April 20, 2016 06:29 am IST - New York

Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Director of the National Cancer Institute Harold Varmus during a bilateral meeting at the New York Plaza Hotel ahead of his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday in New York September 26, 2014. Modi kicked off his maiden visit to the U.S. as India's leader on Friday.     REUTERS/Mohammed Jaffer-SnapsIndia (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH)

Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Director of the National Cancer Institute Harold Varmus during a bilateral meeting at the New York Plaza Hotel ahead of his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday in New York September 26, 2014. Modi kicked off his maiden visit to the U.S. as India's leader on Friday. REUTERS/Mohammed Jaffer-SnapsIndia (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday had a meeting with eminent Nobel Laureate and famous cancer specialist Professor Harold Varmus and invited him to visit India to assist in health and public care research.

Interestingly, 74-year-old Dr. Varmus, currently director of the U.S. National cancer Institute, had done his apprenticeship in a mission hospital in Bareilly in 1960s. He received 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes.

During his 30-minute interaction with Mr. Modi, the two discussed a wide range of public health care issues, including those related to cancer research, vaccine and possibilities of research in India.

“The Prime Minister invited him to visit India on a regular basis. The professor congratulated Modi on the laws in India on anti-smoking,” the spokesperson Ministry of External Affairs told reporters.

Recollecting his India days in 1960s, Mr. Varmus also talked about how medicines have evolved since them.

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