Shyamala Gopalan

Shyamala Gopalan (December 7, 1938 – February 11, 2009) was an India-born Tamil American civil rights activist and cancer researcher. She is the mother of Kamala Harris. Gopalan conducted research in the Cancer Research Lab in UC Berkeley's Department of Zoology. Her research led to advancements in the knowledge of breast cancer hormones. Her work changed the progress on the research of the hormone-responsiveness of breast tissue.