Kang is a medical scientist who has worked on diarrhea diseases and public health in India since the early 1990s. She is a key contributor to
Rotavirus epidemiology and vaccinology in
India. Focusing on vaccines, enteric infections and nutrition in young children in disadvantaged communities, she has combined field epidemiology with intensive laboratory investigations to inform both the science of infectious diseases and policy in India. Her comprehensive research on rotavirus has demonstrated the high burden of rotavirus disease across India, the genetic diversity of viruses, the lower protection from infection and vaccines and the exploration of several approaches to improve the performance of oral vaccines. Her work has led to her being described as India's "vaccine godmother". She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, the UK Faculty of Public Health, the American Academy of Microbiology and of Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences in India and the Indian National Science Academy, as well as the Royal Society. Kang played a significant role in the efforts that culminated in the development of
Rotavac, a vaccine from
Bharat Biotech that targets
diarrhea. She was one of three
principal investigators in the Phase III
clinical trials of the vaccine. Her initial interest was in identifying the
correlates of protection against the rotavirus. She and others began by recreating a study conducted in Mexico to identify children protected from rotaviral infection, research the
immune responses and isolate the correlate of protection. The recreated study itself did not succeed, but it did develop high quality laboratory methods for the detection of rotaviruses. Kang and one of her students subsequently established
vaccine assays for rotavirus infections, used in testing Rotavac. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kang played an influential role in science communication by writing op-eds, speaking online and in interviews on television, and serving as a credible voice against misinformation. She was part of the COVID-19 vaccine safety working group at WHO and the COVID-19 vaccine working group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization. ==Other activities==