Shyamala Gopalan[a] (December 7, 1938 – February 11, 2009) was a biomedical scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,[5] whose work in isolating and characterizing the progesterone receptor gene has stimulated advances in breast biology and oncology.

[9][8] He and Rajam had an arranged marriage, but according to Shyamala's brother, Balachandran, their parents were broad-minded in raising the children, all of whom led somewhat unconventional lives.

Her father thought the subject—which taught skills considered helpful in homemaking—was a mismatch for her abilities; her mother expected the children to seek careers in medicine, engineering, or law.

[8] In 1958, aged 19, Shyamala unexpectedly applied to the master's program in nutrition and endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley, and was accepted.

She served as a peer reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and as a site visit team member for the Federal Advisory Committee.

[13][6] Her work in the isolation and characterization of the progesterone receptor gene in mice changed research on the hormone-responsiveness of breast tissue.

[6] Later in 2009, Kamala Harris carried her mother's ashes to Chennai on the southeastern coast of peninsular India and dispersed them in the Indian Ocean waters.