Dr. Narendra Singh

A Short Personal Bio

Dr. Narendra Singh was born in 1935, in the village Kamhenpur in Uttar Pradesh, India. As a child he got introduced into the knowledge of Sanskrit and the old Hindu scriptures by his elders and became entranced with the ancient customs, culture and Vedic tenets of Hinduism. This childhood educational influence, with his natural interest in plants and herbs inspired him to be a doctor and a scientist. He wanted to scientifically study Ayurveda and medicinal herbs and the ways in which these herbs had sustained human civilization for millennia, before the existence of modern drugs.

After becoming a physician (MBBS), his closeness to nature brought him to search throughout the Himalayas where he found and investigated many healing herbs used by villagers in traditional medicine. All the medicinal herbs mentioned in the ancient Ayurvedic and Hindu texts drew his interest. His fascination and dedication to herbal research made him leave a prestigious position in the Indian Army to obtain further degrees, including his MD in Medicine and Pharmacology from King George's Medical College, Lucknow (1967) and several other doctoral degrees and certifications.

With his combination of pharmacological and medical knowledge he was appointed Head of the Regional Ayurvedic Research Institute, Department of Health, Government of India and Head of Ayurvedic Research, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, King George's Medical College, Lucknow, India, (1964-1995). Dr. N. Singh directly supervised research on Ayurvedic herbs as the Head of the Regional Ayurvedic Research Institute where Ayurvedic herbs and medicines were used clinically under his guidance. He has declined many offers for various professional appointments in order to continue his research on herbs.

Dr. N. Singh' s research publications exceed 250 scientific papers on plant medicines. They have appeared in various international and national journals of repute. Since 1995 he holds the position of Director at the International Institute of Herbal Medicine, Lucknow and President of The International Society of Herbal Medicine. He has organized and chaired several international congresses and has been and is still referee and on the editorial board of several international and national scientific journals.