Netha Hussain

{{Short description|Indian physician, clinical neuroscientist, blogger, Wikipedian}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Netha Hussain

| image = Netha Hussain-070A3987 (cropped).jpg

| alt = Headshot of Netha Hussain behind a mural. She is a young woman with her hair tied up wearing a red flower dress.

| caption = Hussain during Wikimania 2023

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1990|06|11}}

| birth_place = Kunnamangalam, Kerala, India

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| alma_mater =

| occupation = {{hlist|Physician|researcher|Wikipedian}}

| spouse =

| awards = {{ubl

| Women in Open Source Award (2020)

| Wikimedian of the Year – Honourable Mention (2021)

}}

| website = {{URL|https://nethahussain.com}}

}}

Netha Hussain ({{IPA|ml|nɐdɐ husɐin}}; born 11 June 1990) is an Indian physician and Wikipedian{{Cite web|date=2021-04-11|title=Dr. Netha Hussain|url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/story/dr-netha-hussain/|access-date=2021-06-30|website=Wikimedia Foundation|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183228/https://wikimediafoundation.org/story/dr-netha-hussain/|url-status=live}} known for her efforts to tackle the spread of misinformation in Wikipedia about the origin of the coronavirus.{{Cite web|last=Wikimedia|date=2020-04-13|title=Meet some of the women sharing reliable COVID-19 information with the world on Wikipedia|url=https://medium.com/freely-sharing-the-sum-of-all-knowledge/women-reliable-covid19-information-wikipedia-f1f9255c3672|access-date=2021-06-30|website=Medium|language=en|archive-date=2021-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308180757/https://medium.com/freely-sharing-the-sum-of-all-knowledge/women-reliable-covid19-information-wikipedia-f1f9255c3672|url-status=live}}

Life and career

Hussain was born on 11 June 1990 in Kunnamangalam in the state of Kerala.{{Cite web|title=UN recognises Malayali researcher's fight against COVID-19 misinformation|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2020/jul/09/un-recognises-malayali-researchers-fight-against-covid-19-misinformation-2167587.html|access-date=2021-06-30|website=The New Indian Express|archive-date=2021-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181626/https://www.newindianexpress.com/good-news/2020/jul/09/un-recognises-malayali-researchers-fight-against-covid-19-misinformation-2167587.html|url-status=live}}

Hussain embarked in her Wikipedia career in 2010 when she was still at first-year medical student at the Calicut Medical College in Kozhikode, India. She pursued her higher studies in 2016 by joining the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. She also worked as a blogger at Huffington Post until 2018.{{Cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/netha-hussain |title=Netha Hussain |website=Huffington Post |access-date=2021-06-30 |archive-date=2021-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182705/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/netha-hussain |url-status=live |language=en }} In 2020, she obtained her PhD in Clinical Neuroscience from the University of Gothenburg.{{Cite journal|last1=Hussain|first1=Netha|last2=Hansson|first2=Per-Olof|last3=Persson|first3=Carina U.|date=2021-06-29|title=Prediction of fear of falling at 6 months after stroke based on 279 individuals from the Fall Study of Gothenburg|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-92546-9.epdf?sharing_token=QYGD28-jkyrwvjokEku2itRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0N_B1Q8pSwn8wngtUlCc8ofrmq4-5ywzoGExHR13c03-CwBJG-lhXNs_dupob6HVh4v6ZOPiOc-je01SEYgn5lu8IhvIScqumZgQF8CDgKh2CqVXBoDa0l3zPGRilWthMY=|journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=11|issue=1|page=13503|doi=10.1038/s41598-021-92546-9|pmid=34188105|pmc=8241879|bibcode=2021NatSR..1113503H|issn=2045-2322|doi-access=free|access-date=2021-06-30|archive-date=2022-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627205233/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-92546-9.epdf?sharing_token=QYGD28-jkyrwvjokEku2itRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0N_B1Q8pSwn8wngtUlCc8ofrmq4-5ywzoGExHR13c03-CwBJG-lhXNs_dupob6HVh4v6ZOPiOc-je01SEYgn5lu8IhvIScqumZgQF8CDgKh2CqVXBoDa0l3zPGRilWthMY=|url-status=live}}

In mid-2020, she began focusing on creating and curating Wikipedia articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic in English, Malayalam and Swedish language editions.{{cite web|url=https://www.mathrubhumi.com/in-depth/columns/netha-hussain-a-doctor-and-wikipedian-share-her-thoughts-1.8184910 |title=വിക്കി മീഡിയൻ ഓഫ് ദ ഇയർ നേടിയ ആദ്യ മലയാളി; വിക്കിപീഡിയയിൽ എഴുത്ത് ഹരമാണ് നേതയ്ക്ക് |date=2023-01-02 |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=Mathrubhumi |language=ml}} She has written nearly 30 articles on Wikipedia relating to COVID-19 including List of unproven methods against COVID-19 with the purpose of preventing the spread of misinformation about the pandemic in internet and social media platforms.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/features/wikipedia-is-at-war-over-the-coronavirus-lab-leak-theory/ |last=Ryan |first=Jackson |title=Wikipedia is at war over the coronavirus lab leak theory |website=CNET |access-date=2021-06-30 |language=en |archive-date=2021-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703122525/https://www.cnet.com/features/wikipedia-is-at-war-over-the-coronavirus-lab-leak-theory/ |url-status=live }}

Awards

In 2020, Hussain received the Women in Open Source Academic Award, recognising her contributions regarding disseminating and sharing medical knowledge and information in Wikipedia.{{Cite web|url=https://akademiliv.se/en/2020/05/65856/ |title=Netha Hussain wins the 2020 Women in Open Source Award |website=akademiliv.se |access-date=2021-06-30 |archive-date=2021-07-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181432/https://akademiliv.se/en/2020/05/65856/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.redhat.com/en/about/women-in-open-source |title=Women in Open Source Award |website=www.redhat.com |language=en |access-date=2021-06-30 |archive-date=2020-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322041302/https://www.redhat.com/en/about/women-in-open-source |url-status=live}} She also received honorable special mention from the United Nations through its official Twitter handle in 2020. In 2021, she received a Wikimedian of the Year Honourable Mention by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales during the virtual Wikimania conference.{{Cite web |url=https://theprint.in/india/3-indians-win-wikimedia-awards-for-helping-provide-free-accessible-knowledge-on-the-internet/716746/ |last=Sharma |first=Unnati |date=2021-08-17 |title=3 Indians win Wikimedia awards for helping provide free, accessible knowledge on the internet |website=ThePrint |language=en-US |access-date=2021-08-17 |archive-date=2021-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817074331/https://theprint.in/india/3-indians-win-wikimedia-awards-for-helping-provide-free-accessible-knowledge-on-the-internet/716746/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Meet Netha Hussain: Wikimedian of the Year 2021 Honourable Mention winner |url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/08/15/meet-netha-hussain-wikimedian-of-the-year-2021-honourable-mention-winner/ |website=Diff |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |date=15 August 2021}}

Publications

{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2021/04/12/guaranteeing-the-safety-of-vaccine-information-.html |title=Guaranteeing the safety of vaccine information |website=The Jakarta Post |archive-date=2021-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181438/https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2021/04/12/guaranteeing-the-safety-of-vaccine-information-.html |url-status=live |language=en}}
{{Cite web |last=Hussain |first=Netha |date=2020-07-28 |title=Strengthening vaccine safety information on Wikipedia |url=https://misinfocon.com/strengthening-vaccine-safety-information-on-wikipedia-a259c43a397a |website=Medium |language=en |archive-date=2022-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017141023/https://misinfocon.com/strengthening-vaccine-safety-information-on-wikipedia-a259c43a397a?gi=275f4e9653dc |url-status=live}}