K. R. K. Easwaran

Last updated

K. R. K. Easwaran
Born (1939-07-07) 7 July 1939 (age 84)
Kerala, India
Nationality Indian
Alma mater
Known forDevelopment of anti-fungal drugs
Ion-transport across membranes
Awards1984  Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize
1994 Ranbaxy Research Award
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Kalpathy Ramaier Katchap Easwaran (born 1939) is an Indian molecular biophysicist, academic and a former Astra Chair Professor and chairman of the department of molecular biophysics of the Indian Institute of Science. [1] He is known for his contributions in the development of anti-fungal drugs and for his researches on ionophores and ion-transport across membranes. [2] He is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences. [3] 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 1984, for his contributions to biological sciences. [4]

Contents

Biography

Kalpathy Easwaran, born on 7 July 1939 in the South Indian state of Kerala in a brahmin family, graduated in science from Government Victoria College, Palakkad and secured his master's degree (MSc) from the University of Mumbai in 1962 to pursue his doctoral studies at the department of physics of the Indian Institute of Science, which he obtained in 1967. [1] [note 1] His post-doctoral research was at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research during 1966–67 and later at the University of Washington after which he spent a year at Jožef Stefan Institute as a visiting scientist. Returning to India in 1970, he resumed his career at the Indian Institute of Science, holding such positions as Astra Chair professorship (1994–97), chair of the department of molecular biophysics (until 2006) and as Indian National Science Academy Senior Scientist (2006–07) until his superannuation in 2007. In between, he served as a visiting faculty at institutions such as Harvard Medical School, University of Connecticut, Georgetown University, United States Naval Research Laboratory and National University of Singapore. Post retirement, he is involved with ABL Biotechnologies, a Chennai-based biotechnology institution. [1]

Easwaran lives in Bengaluru. [5]

Legacy

Easwaran's studies are known to have contributed to a wider understanding of ion-transport across membranes and assisted in developing a molecular model for transmembrane cation transport. [6] He elucidated the conformational, mechanistic and kinetic aspects of transmembrane ion transport mediated by carrier ionophores, and this helped in the design and development of anti-fungal drugs, lipids and membrane structures. He also contributed in the spectroscopic analysis of peptides and proteins. [1] His researches are documented in over 90 articles and six review papers. [7] [8] He has mentored 14 scholars in their doctoral studies and edited two books, one of which is Biomembrane Structure and Function: The State of the Art. [9]

Easwaran is reported to have been among the scientists of IISc who established the departments of Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics as centres of excellence. [1] He led a team of scientists working on Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and membrane biophysics and served as the founder chairman of the International Relations Cell of the institute. He sat in several committees of the Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Science and Technology, Indian National Science Academy and the National University of Singapore and is also known to have been active in promoting life science education programs in Bengaluru. [1] He was one of the Indian scientists who successfully campaigned for the XIII International Biophysics Congress held in New Delhi during 19–24 September 1999 [10] and has participated in several conferences and seminars to delivery keynote addresses. [11]

Awards and honors

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1984. [4] The Indian Academy of Sciences elected him as their fellow in 1984 and the Indian National Science Academy followed suit in 1989. A life member of the Indian Biophysical Society, [12] Easwaran received the Ranbaxy Research Award in 1994. [1]

See also

Notes

  1. His doctoral thesis was on nuclear magnetic resonance studies in solids, particularly in ferroelectrics.

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinakar Mashnu Salunke</span>

Dinakar Masanu Salunke is an immunologist and structural biologist Presently, he is the Director of International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) New Delhi. Earlier he was the Executive Director of newly established Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), an institution jointly set up by Department of Biotechnology (India) and UNESCO at Faridabad. He is the recipient of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in the category of biological sciences and Fellow of all major science academies in India.

John Barnabas (1929–1994) was an Indian evolutionary biologist, known for his contributions in the fields of Molecular Systematics and Evolution. He was a member of the Science Advisory Committee to the cabinet as well as the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India. A Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow, Barnabas was also 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 1974, for his contributions to biological sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amar Nath Bhaduri</span> Indian molecular enzymologist and chemical biologist

Amar Nath Bhaduri (1935–2003) was an Indian molecular enzymologist and chemical biologist, known for his studies on UDP-glucose 4-epimerase, a homodimeric epimerase found in cells and his work on Leishmania donovani, the protozoal pathogen for Kala-azar. He was the director of the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata and an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy 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 1978, for his contributions to biological sciences.

Sunil Kumar Podder was an Indian molecular biologist and biophysicist, known for his biophysical studies on Ligand. Focusing his researches on the recognition processes in biological systems and their chemical specificity, he proposed a model for measuring the specificity using free energy of association of amino acids of proteins with nucleic acid bases.

Ramakrishnan Nagaraj is an Indian biochemist, molecular biologist and the leader of a team of scientists working in the field of peptide biochemistry at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). He is known for his studies on hemolytic and antibacterial properties in synthetic analogs of bacterial toxins. He is a J. C. Bose National fellow of the Department of Science and Technology at CCMB and an elected fellow of 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 Nagaraj the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1994, for his contributions to biological sciences.

Kalappa Muniyappa is an Indian molecular biologist and geneticist, known for his researches on the chromatization of DNA and gene targeting. He is a professor and chairman of the department of biochemistry of the Indian Institute of Science and an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences 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 1995, for his contributions to biological sciences.

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.

Narayanaswamy Srinivasan was an Indian molecular biophysicist and a professor and the head of Proteins: Structure, Function and Evolutionary Group at the Molecular Biophysics Unit of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his researches in the fields of computational genomics and protein structure analysis. An elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India, he is a J. C. Bose National fellow of the Department of Biotechnology and a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Science and Technology. 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 2007, for his contributions to biological sciences.

Balasubramanian Gopal is an Indian structural biologist, molecular biophysicist and a professor at the Molecular Biophysics Unit of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on cell wall synthesis in Staphylococcus aureus and is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences. He received 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 2015, for his contributions to biological sciences.

Girjesh Govil was an Indian molecular biophysicist and a Raja Ramanna professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He was known for his researches on semi-empirical quantum chemical theories. He was an elected fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, and all the three major Indian science academies viz. the National Academy of Sciences, India, Indian National Science Academy 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 1978, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Tushar Kanti Chakraborty is an Indian organic chemist and a professor at the Indian Institute of Science. He has served as a director of the Central Drug Research Institute and as a chief scientist at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. He is known for the discovery of novel macrocyclic systems. He is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy National Academy of Sciences, India 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 2002, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santanu Bhattacharya</span> Indian chemical biologist

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).

Murali Sastry is an Indian material chemist, nanomaterial scientist and the chief executive officer of the IITB-Monash Research Academy. He is a former chief scientist at Tata Chemicals and a former senior scientist at the National Chemical Laboratory. He is known for his studies on surfaces, films and materials chemistry and is an elected fellow of Maharashtra 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 2002, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Amalendu Chandra is an Indian theoretical physical chemist, a professor and the head of the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He is known for his microscopic theories and simulations on liquids, interface and clusters. He is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences 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 2007, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Pradyut Ghosh is an Indian inorganic chemist and a professor at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. He is known for his studies on chemical sensing of anions, interlocked molecules and self-assembly. He is a recipient of the Swarnajayanthi Fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology and 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 2015, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Partha Sarathi Mukherjee is an Indian inorganic chemist and a professor at the Inorganic and Physical Chemistry department of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his studies on organic nano structures, molecular sensors and catalysis in nanocages. He is a recipient of the Swarnajayanthi Fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology and 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 2016, for his contributions to chemical sciences.

Pundi Narasimhan Rangarajan is an Indian biochemist, virologist and a professor at the department of biochemistry of the Indian Institute of Science. Prof Rangarajan is currently the Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at Indian Institute of Science. Known for his research on eukaryotic gene expression, Rangarajan 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 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjeev Das</span> Indian cancer biologist and a scientist

Sanjeev Das is an Indian cancer biologist and a scientist at National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India. He is well regarded for his studies on tumor suppressor proteins. He is a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology. 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 biological sciences in 2017.

Thomas John Pucadyil is an Indian molecular biologist, biochemist and a professor and chair of biology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. Known for his studies on membrane biochemistry and vesicular transport, Pucadyil is an international research scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a senior fellow of the Wellcome Trust- Department of Biotechnology. 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 biological sciences in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Indian Fellow - Easwaran". Indian National Science Academy. 2016. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  2. "Brief Profile of the Awardee". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  3. "Fellow profile - Indian Academy of Sciences". Indian Academy of Sciences. 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 "View Bhatnagar Awardees". Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize. 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  5. "K.r.k. Easwaran". Bomida. 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  6. "Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners" (PDF). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 1999. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  7. Helmut Sigel (30 July 1985). Metal Ions in Biological Systems: Volume 19: Antibiotics and Their Complexes. CRC Press. pp. 136–. ISBN   978-0-8247-7425-7.
  8. D. Vasilescu (8 March 2013). Water and Ions in Biomolecular Systems: Proceedings of the 5th UNESCO International Conference. Birkhäuser. pp. 221–. ISBN   978-3-0348-7253-9.
  9. Bruce Paul Gaber (Author), K. R. K. Easwaran (Editor) (1992). Biomembrane Structure and Function: The State of the Art. Adenine Pr. p. 386. ISBN   978-0940030350.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  10. D. P. Burma (2011). From Physiology and Chemistry to Biochemistry. Pearson Education India. pp. 399–. ISBN   978-81-317-3220-5.
  11. "Second Bilateral Symposium on Structural biology". National University of Singapore. 2016. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  12. "Life member". Indian Biophysical Society. 2016. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.