Modi in US: Narendra Modi meets Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus

, Sept 27: Prime Minister

today 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 Varmus, currently director of the US 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 Modi, which lasted for about half an hour, 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, Varmus also talked about how medicines have evolved since them.

PTI