Dr. Gursaran Prasad Talwar (G.P. Talwar, also known as Pran Talwar; born 2 October 1926) is a pioneering Indian biochemist and immunologist. He is widely regarded as the father of immunology in India and is best known for developing the world’s first leprosy vaccine and advancing research in immunocontraception. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1992 and the French Legion of Honour in 1991.

Born on 2 October 1926, he obtained his BSc (Hons) and MSc (Tech) from the University of Punjab. He earned his Doctorat ès Sciences from the Sorbonne while working at the Institut Pasteur in Paris under Jacques Monod, and later held an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in Germany.

In 1956 he joined the newly established All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, as one of its earliest faculty members, serving as Associate Professor and later as Professor and Head of the Department of Biochemistry until 1983. From 1972 to 1991 he headed the ICMR-WHO Research and Training Centre in Immunology for India and South-East Asia.

In 1983 the Government of India appointed him founding Director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII) in New Delhi. Under his leadership NII became a major centre for immunological research and trained a generation of Indian scientists. He later served as Professor of Eminence at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and continues research through the Talwar Research Foundation.

His most celebrated scientific contribution is the discovery of the unique bacterium Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP), named after him. This led to the development of the first effective leprosy vaccine (MIP vaccine), which has also shown promise against anogenital warts and certain cancers. He also pioneered work on a birth-control vaccine based on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and developed polyherbal microbicides for women’s reproductive health.

Colleagues describe him as a relentless innovator who focused on problems of immediate relevance to public health. “India has the largest number of leprosy patients,” he recalled being told when urged to take up the challenge. “Do you expect others to solve our problems?” That question set him on the path that produced the MIP vaccine.

Even in his late nineties Dr. Talwar remains active in research. He has mentored countless scientists who now lead immunology institutions across India and is remembered as a builder of scientific capacity and a scientist who turned laboratory discoveries into practical tools for human health.