Lessons from History in a Pandemic
By Sanjeev Jain | 29 March 2021
Every known civilisation has battled epidemics of diseases like the bubonic plague, cholera, typhoid, and smallpox. Societies’ responses to epidemics have shaped our history and continue to influence how we think of pandemics in the present day. Connections between past epidemics and contemporary society intrigue psychiatrists like Sanjeev Jain, who has worked extensively on the history of medicine and mental health in South Asia.
About the Expert
Sanjeev Jain teaches at the Department of Psychiatry at National Institute of Mental Health And Neurological Sciences (NIMHANS). There, in addition to being a clinician, he researches the genetic and genomic correlates of psychiatric and neurological diseases using both genetic analyses and model systems. He has an abiding interest in studying the symptoms and outcomes of psychoses as well as their social and biological correlates. He has also studied historical and social responses to mental health issues, including the development of psychiatric care, medical sciences, and health policy in south Asia, from the colonial and post-colonial periods.
