Dr. Guru Prakash Dutta | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 November 1933 India |
| Died | 25 April 2021 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Punjab University |
| Known for |
|
| Awards | 1976 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cell biology |
| Institutions | |
Guru Prakash Dutta (19 November 1933 - 25 April 2021) was an Indian cell biologist and immunologist, known for his contributions to the subjects of Experimental protozoology and Immunology. [1] [2] His researches are reported to have assisted in the development of a number of anti-malarial drugs. [3] He was an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, India and Indian Society of Parasitology. 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, in 1976, for his contributions to biological sciences. [4]
Guru Prakash Dutta, after graduating in zoology in 1952 from DAV College, Jallandhar [5] of Punjab University, followed it up with an honors degree in 1955, a master's degree (MSc) in 1956 and a doctoral degree (PhD) in 1961 from the same institution. [3] He started his career as a lecturer at his alma mater in 1962 where he stayed till his move to Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) in 1964; in between, he had a stint at National Institutes of Health, Bethesda as a post-doctoral fellow during 1962–63. He served CDRI for more than three decades and was a director's grade scientist at the time of his superannuation in 1993. Post his retirement, he served as an emeritus scientist of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research at CDRI from 1994 to 1998 and as an honorary consultant on Malaria at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants from 1998 to 2000. [3]
Dutta, whose researches on experimental protozoology assisted in a wider understanding of protozoa and its functional morphology, is known to have developed new techniques for the culture of those unicellular eukaryotic organisms and studied their metabolic and growth responses to physico-chemical factors, with special emphasis on Entamoeba histolytica, an anaerobic parasite which causes amoebiasis. [6] His work on the antimalarial drugs helped in the development of several fast-acting drugs and alpha/beta arteether, alpha and beta arteether, alpha and beta artelinate, dihydroartemisinin, pyronaridine, bulaquine and Tefenoquine are some of drugs developed with the assistance of his researches. [3] [note 1]
Dutta's researches have been detailed in over 275 articles [7] [8] and two books, Antimalarial Drug Development and Prophylaxis against Malaria and Experimental and Clinical Studies on Amoebiasis. [9] The International Review of Cytology of Academic Press has published five reviews, three on Cytochemistry and ultrastructure of Protozoa and two on Amoebiasis and ResearchGate, an online repository of scientific articles, has listed 130 of his papers. [10] He has been a collaborator for Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in two of their international programs on Malaria which ran between 1983 and 1994. He has also mentored 40 master's and doctoral scholars in their researches. [3]
Dutta received the degree of Doctor of Science from the Punjab University in 1973 and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biological sciences in 1976. [2] The Indian National Science Academy elected him as their fellow in 1984 and the National Academy of Sciences, India followed INSA with their fellowship in 1991. [11] He was also elected by the Indian Society for Parasitology as a fellow in 1993. [12]
Chhitar Mal Gupta is an Indian molecular biologist and academic, known for researches on transbilayer phospholipid asymmetry in biological membranes., drug targeting in parasitic diseases and characterization of structure and function of Leishmania actin and actin binding proteins. He is former director of the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow and the Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh. A Distinguished Biotechnology Fellow and Distinguished Biotechnology Research Professor of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, he is an elected fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, India and the National Academy of Medical Sciences. 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, in 1985, for his contributions to biological sciences.
Amit Prakash Sharma is an Indian parasitologist and Former Director of National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi. He is known for his studies on the disease of malaria and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, The World Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India. He has been awarded the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Biological Sciences, JC Bose Fellowship, Ranbaxy Science Research Award, Infosys Science Award in Biological Sciences, Om Prakash Bhasin Award in Biological Sciences and Lakshmipat Singhania- IIM Lucknow National Leadership Award.
Chetan Eknath Chitnis is an Indian scientist in the field of malaria research. He is the head of the Malaria Parasite Biology and Vaccines Unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris and an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2009) as well as Indian National Science Academy (2014). He received the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award in 2004 and the Infosys Prize in Life Sciences 2010. Chitnis is the former principal investigator of the malaria research group at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in New Delhi.
Alok Bhattacharya is an Indian parasitologist, academic and a professor at the School of Life Sciences of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. He chairs the Biotechnology Information System Network (BITSNET) as well as the Life Sciences Expert Committee of FIST program of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). He is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy and is known for his studies on Entamoeba histolytica and species-specific calcium binding protein and its gene.
Vinod Bhakuni (1962–2011) was an Indian molecular biophysicist and the head of the Molecular and Structural Biology Division of the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI). He was the founder of the Protein Chemistry laboratory of CDRI and was known for his contributions to the study of protein folding. A recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, he was an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and the National Academy of Sciences, India. 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, in 2006, for his contributions to biological sciences.
Shantanu Chowdhury is an Indian structural biologist and a professor at Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. He is known for developing a mechanism for gene regulation mediated by DNA Secondary-Structure in diverse cellular contexts. An elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, he is a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology in 2010. 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, in 2012, for his contributions to biological sciences.
Suman Kumar Dhar is an Indian molecular biologist and a professor at the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine of Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is known for his studies on the DNA replication and cell cycle regulation in Helicobacter pylori and Plasmodium falciparum, two pathogens affecting humans. An elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences, he is also a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology in 2010. 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, in 2012, for his contributions to biological sciences.
Manojit Mohan Dhar (1927–2003) was an Indian natural product chemist and the director of Central Drug Research Institute. He was known for his researches on peptides and the synthesis of the internucleotide bond and was an elected fellow of the 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, in 1971, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Dewan Singh Bhakuni was an Indian natural product chemist, stereochemist who was a director general-grade scientist of the Central Drug Research Institute. He is known for his researches on the biogenesis of alkaloids and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, India and the 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, in 1975, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Santanu Bhattacharya is an Indian chemical biologist and former professor at the Indian Institute of Science. At, present he is the Director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati (IISER-Tirupati). He is known for his studies of unnatural amino acids, oligopeptides, designed and natural lipids and biologically active natural products and is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy The World Academy of Sciences and the Indian Academy of Sciences 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, in 2003, for his contributions to chemical sciences. He is also a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology (2002) and the TWAS Prize (2010).
Gangadhar J. Sanjayan is an Indian bioorganic chemist, scientist and the head of The Sanjayan Lab at the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. He is known for his researches on the synthesis of designer peptide/protein mimetics and hetero-foldamers and is a recipient of the Bronze Medal of the Chemical Research Society of India. 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, in 2012, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Govindasamy Mugesh is an Indian inorganic and physical chemist, a professor and the head of the Mugesh Laboratory attached to the department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on the mechanism of thyroid hormone action and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Royal Society of Chemistry and the National Academy of Sciences, India. 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, in 2012, for his contributions to chemical sciences. In 2019, he was awarded the Infosys Prize in Physical Sciences for his seminal work in the chemical synthesis of small molecules and nanomaterials for biomedical applications.
Dumbala Srinivasa Reddy is currently Director CSIR-IICT Indian Institute of Chemical Technology Hyderabad India, he has additional charge of CSIR-IIIM CSIR-Institute of Integrative Medicine at Jammu and CSIR-CDRI CSIR-Drug Research Institute at Lucknow, India.
Ganapati Shankar Bhat is an Indian geophysicist and the chairman of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on atmospheric convective processes and air-sea interactions and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences. 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 Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences in 2002.
Nirmal Kumar Dutta (1913–1982) was an Indian pharmacologist, medical academic and the director of Haffkine Institute, Mumbai. He was known for his contributions to the studies on cholera and was an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India and the 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 1965.
Shyam Swarup Agarwal was an Indian geneticist, immunologist and the director of Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI-MS), Lucknow. A former director of the Advanced Center for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) at the Tata Memorial Centre, he was the pioneer of medical genetics and clinical immunology education in India. Known for his researches in the fields of genetics and molecular biology, he was an Emeritus Professor of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, and an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies, namely, the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India, and the 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 1986.
Yagya Dutta Sharma is an Indian molecular biologist, professor and head of the department of biotechnology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi. An elected fellow of all three major Indian science academies — Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Sciences, India — Sharma is known for his research on the molecular biology of malaria. 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 for his contributions to medical sciences in 1994.
Chinmoy Sankar Dey is an Indian molecular biologist and a professor at Kusuma School of Biological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Known for his research on insulin resistance, Dey's is a J. C. Bose National Fellow of the Department of Science and Technology and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and the 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 2003. He is also a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology.
Deepak Gaur was an Indian molecular biologist, and a professor at the School of Biotechnology of Jawaharlal Nehru University. Known for his studies on Plasmodium falciparum, Gaur is a recipient of the N-Bios Prize. 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 2017.
T Govindaraju is a professor in the Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru. The researchers in the Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory work in areas which lie at the intersection of chemistry, biology and biomaterials science, and in particular, on problems related to Alzheimer's disease, peptide chemistry, molecular probes, molecular architectonics, nanoarchitectonics and biomimetics.
