G. Dhinakar Raj | |
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Born | Tamil Nadu, India | 22 September 1963
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | |
Known for | Studies on diagnostics of veterinary diseases |
Awards |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | |
Institutions |
Gopal Dhinakar Raj is an Indian veterinary scientist, an academic and the project director of the Translational Research Platform for Veterinary Biologicals, a partnership program between the Department of Biotechnology and the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. Known for the development of diagnostic test kits for animal and poultry diseases such as Leptospirosis and Egg drop syndrome, Raj is a member of the DBT Task Force on Animal Biotechnology. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2007.
Born in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Dhinakar Raj did his undergraduate studies at Madras Veterinary College and obtained the degree of BVSc from the Tamilnadu Agricultural University in 1986, standing first in the university which earned him four gold medals. [1] [note 1] Subsequently, he completed his master's studies in biotechnology at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in 1989 and moved to the UK for his doctoral studies on a Commonwealth Fellowship program to secure a PhD in 1997. His post-doctoral work was, at first, at the University of Nebraska in 2001 and later at Pirbright Institute (then known as the Institute for Animal Health) in 2008. In between he joined the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) as an associate professor [2] where he is a professor [3] [4] and serves as the project director of the Translational Research Platform for Veterinary Biologicals, a collaborative initiative between the Department of Biotechnology and TANUVAS. [1] He currently serves as Director, Centre for Animal Heath Studies (CAHS) and Director, Veterinary Incubation Foundation @ TANUVAS, [5] a Section 8 company established by Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai.
Raj, who specializes in animal biotechnology, focuses his work in the fields of molecular diagnostics and immunology and has carried out research on the development of diagnostic kits for various animal and poultry diseases. [1] The team led by him at TANUVAS is reported to have developed a methodology for detecting Bluetongue disease which uses latex beads smeared with specially developed monoclonal antibodies by the team. [6] In 2015, he led the team that developed a diagnostic kit for Leptospirosis (rat fever), a common disease spread by infected rats. [7] The kit, jointly developed by scientists from TANUVAS and the department of microbiology of the Government General Hospital, Chennai, was cheaper by one-fifth of the price of similar kits available in the market at that time. [8] His contributions are also reported in the development and validation of a Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) Vaccine, sexing kits for emus, biomarkers for chicken and nanoparticle-coupled vaccine for Newcastle disease. Molecular biological studies of the viruses that cause egg drop syndrome, bronchitis, rabies and chikungunya as well as immunological studies of the genetic resistance of Indian goats and buffaloes are some of his other contributions. His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles [9] [note 2] and ResearchGate, an online repository of scientific articles has listed 113 of them. [10] Besides, he is the author of two books, Animal Biotechnology: Vaccines and Diagnostics-Markets and Investment Opportunities [11] and Monoclonal Antibodies Application in Disease and Health. [12] He holds an Indian patent [13] and eight of his patent applications are pending approval. [14] He is a former member of the editorial board of Avian Pathology journal of Taylor & Francis and a member of the Task Force on Animal Biotechnology of the Department of Biotechnology. [1] He is also associated with the Indian Society For Veterinary Immunology And Biotechnology (ISVIB) [15] and serves as its vice president. [16]
Raj received the Dr. F. M. Burnett Award of the Indian Society For Veterinary Immunology And Biotechnology in 2006. [17] The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards in 2007. [18] He received the Tata Innovation Fellowship of the DBT in 2012. [1]
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacteria Leptospira that can infect humans, dogs, rodents and many other wild and domesticated animals. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild to severe. Weil's disease, the acute, severe form of leptospirosis, causes the infected individual to become jaundiced, develop kidney failure, and bleed. Bleeding from the lungs associated with leptospirosis is known as severe pulmonary haemorrhage syndrome.
Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) is a veterinary university founded in 1989 in Madhavaram Milk Colony, Chennai, India. It is composed of the Madras Veterinary College, Vepery, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Tirunelveli; Veterinary College and Research Institute, Orathanadu, Thanjavur and the Institute of Food and Dairy Technology, Koduvalli, Chennai-52. Research farms are for leprosy bacteria, for prawn and edible fish culture, and for animal feed safety.
In immunology, antiserum is a blood serum containing antibodies that is used to spread passive immunity to many diseases via blood donation (plasmapheresis). For example, convalescent serum, passive antibody transfusion from a previous human survivor, used to be the only known effective treatment for ebola infection with a high success rate of 7 out of 8 patients surviving.
The Pirbright Institute is a research institute in Surrey, England, dedicated to the study of infectious diseases of farm animals. It forms part of the UK government's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The institute employs scientists, vets, PhD students, and operations staff.
The Center of Molecular Immunology or CIM, is a cancer research institution located on the west side of Havana, Cuba. 23.0755°N 82.4708°W
The Madras Veterinary College, the college affiliated with Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, is a veterinary college in Vepery, a suburb of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The college was established on 1 October 1903 in a small building known as Doblin Hall.
Bovine malignant catarrhal fever (BMCF) is a fatal lymphoproliferative disease caused by a group of ruminant gamma herpes viruses including Alcelaphine gammaherpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1) and Ovine gammaherpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) These viruses cause unapparent infection in their reservoir hosts, but are usually fatal in cattle and other ungulates such as deer, antelope, and buffalo. In Southern Africa the disease is known as snotsiekte, from the Afrikaans.
Ovine rinderpest, also commonly known as peste des petits ruminants (PPR), is a contagious disease primarily affecting goats and sheep; however, camels and wild small ruminants can also be affected. PPR is currently present in North, Central, West and East Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It is caused by Morbillivirus caprinae in the genus Morbillivirus, and is closely related to, among others, Morbillivirus pecoris, Morbillivirus hominis, and Morbillivirus canis. The disease is highly contagious, and can have an 80–100% mortality rate in acute cases in an epizootic setting. The virus does not infect humans.
Antonio Lanzavecchia is an Italian and Swiss immunologist. As a fellow of Collegio Borromeo he obtained a degree with honors in Medicine in 1976 from the University of Pavia where he specialized in Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases. He is Head Human Immunology Program, Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare-INGM, Milan and SVP Senior research Fellow, Humabs/Vir Biotechnology, Bellinzona and San Francisco (USA). Since 2017, he is also Professor at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI).
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is an Indian government department, under the Ministry of Science and Technology responsible for administrating development and commercialisation in the field of modern biology and biotechnology in India. It was set up in 1986.
Virander Singh Chauhan is an Indian scientist and a Rhodes Scholar working in the fields of genetic engineering and biotechnology. He is known for his contributions to the development of a recombinant vaccine for malaria. and for synthetic structural peptides with biological functions. He was honored by the Government of India in 2012 with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri. He is the present Chancellor of the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management.
The Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), formerly the Global Alliance for Livestock Vaccines (GALV), is a not-for-profit livestock health product development and access partnership. It operates as a public-private partnership and a UK registered charity headquartered in Edinburgh.
Shahid Jameel is an Indian virologist and academic. Dr. Jameel is the Sultan Qaboos bin Said Fellow at Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and Research Fellow, Green Templeton College, University of Oxford. He serves as the Principal Investigator for the Centre's project on Public Health, Science and Technology in Muslim societies. Previously he was the director of the Trivedi School of Biosciences since its inception in the year 2020 at Ashoka University. He was formerly head of the scientific advisory group to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortia (INSACOG) established in December 2020, and the chief executive officer of Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance. Known for his research in hepatitis E virus, Jameel is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies viz. National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian Academy of Sciences, and Indian National Science Academy. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 2000.
Sangita Mukhopadhyay is an Indian molecular cell biologist, immunologist and the head of the molecular biology group at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics. Known for her studies on immunosuppression and infection biology, Mukhopadhyay is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies namely the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded her the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for her contributions to biosciences in 2008.
Mohan Ramachandra Wani was an Indian cell biologist, immunologist and a scientist at the National Centre for Cell Science. Known for his studies in the fields of bone and cartilage cell biology, osteoimmunology, and regenerative medicine, Wani was an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and an elected member of Guha Research Conference. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2009.
Santasabuj Das is an Indian medical doctor, molecular immunologist, bioinformatician and a scientist at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata. He is known for his studies on the pathogenesis of various types of infections caused by Salmonella in humans and is an elected fellow of the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology. He is a former Fulbright scholar and a life member of the Probiotic Association of India, the Society of Biological Chemists, India and the Indian Science Congress Association. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences, in 2011.
Dr. Manmohan Parida, Sc ‘H’ is the director of the Indian Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior. He assumed the position with effect from 1 October 2021. He obtained his graduation in Veterinary Science from Odisha Veterinary College as best graduate with three Gold Medals into his credit. He earned his master's degree in Veterinary Virology from prestigious Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar and further obtained his Doctorate Jiwaji University, Gwalior in Microbiology. He was also awarded with Monbusho Fellowship from Japanese Govt and pursued Post Doctoral Research Scientist at Institute of Tropical Medicine, WHO reference center for research on arboviruses, Nagasaki, Japan.
Animal vaccination is the immunisation of a domestic, livestock or wild animal. The practice is connected to veterinary medicine. The first animal vaccine invented was for chicken cholera in 1879 by Louis Pasteur. The production of such vaccines encounter issues in relation to the economic difficulties of individuals, the government and companies. Regulation of animal vaccinations is less compared to the regulations of human vaccinations. Vaccines are categorised into conventional and next generation vaccines. Animal vaccines have been found to be the most cost effective and sustainable methods of controlling infectious veterinary diseases. In 2017, the veterinary vaccine industry was valued at US$7 billion and it is predicted to reach US$9 billion in 2024.
Harsh Vardhan Batra is an Indian scientist working in animal biotechnology at the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), of the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology. He is a former director of the Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) establishment at Mysore. As a specialist in infectious diseases, he participated in the DRDO biodefence preparedness program, and was an expert member of the technical advisory committee on plague constituted by the government of India in September 1994. He served as technical consultant for the design and construction of high containment laboratories for DRDO, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). He participated in the United Nations Biological Weapons Convention (BTWC) ad hoc group meetings in Geneva as a member of the Indian delegation, and conducted World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asia Regional Office meetings and workshops on infectious diseases.
Veerappan Muthukkaruppan or VR. Muthukaruppan, also known as Dr. VRM, is an Indian immunologist. He worked for more than three decades as a professor of immunology at Madurai Kamaraj University. His primary research interests have been in the creation of potential vaccines and the use of purified porine for the diagnosis of murine typhoid, for which he has also created a number of monoclonal antibodies. Muthukkaruppan has researched the pathogenesis of Eales disease while attending Madurai Kamaraj University in association with Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai. As a result, he accepted an invitation to become the Aravind Medical Research Foundation's Director of Research in 1999 and to set up a lab for fundamental studies on eye illnesses. His research interests include the discovery of unique markers for human corneal epithelial stem cells, the immunology and aetiology of ocular inflammation linked to leptospirosis, the prevention of posterior capsular opacification, and the pathogenic mechanisms underlying diabetic retinopathy and Eales disease. From 1994 until 1997, Muthukkaruppan served as the Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu's Bharathidasan University. The Indian Immunology Society elected him as its President from 1981 to 1982.
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