Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a public deemed research university located in Mumbai, India that is dedicated to basic research in mathematics and the sciences. It is a Deemed University and works under the umbrella of the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India. It is located at Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai, with a campus in Bangalore, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS), and an affiliated campus in Serilingampally near Hyderabad. TIFR conducts research primarily in the natural sciences, mathematics, the biological sciences and theoretical computer science.
Dr. Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan is an emeritus professor and former director of the National Centre for Biological Sciences. On 26 March 2018, the Government of India appointed him as the principal scientific adviser to succeed Dr. R Chidamabaram. His term as Principal Scientific Adviser ended on April 2, 2022. In 2012, he was elected a fellow of The Royal Society and in April 2014 he was elected as a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences. He was conferred the Padma Shri on 26 January 2013 and is also a recipient of the Infosys Prize in the life sciences category in 2009.
Shekhar C. Mande is Structural and Computational Biologist. He was the Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, and the Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology. Prior to this, he was the Director of National Centre for Cell Science, Pune.
Sudha Bhattacharya is an Indian academic, scientist and a writer. She is recognized primarily for her in-depth study of Entamoeba histolytica, a parasitic protozoan that causes amoebiasis: Dr. Bhattacharya's laboratory first detected Ribosomal RNA genes on Circular DNA, while studying the parasite, and also discovered families of retrotransposons in the parasite genome. Her work has primarily been in the fields of Molecular Parasitology and Gene Regulation.
Roop Mallik is an Indian biophysicist who works on nanoscale molecular motor proteins that transport material such as viruses, mitochondria, endosomes etc. inside living cells. The motors, such as kinesin and dynein generate forces of pico-newton order to carry our various cellular processes namely cell division, vesicular transport, endocytosis, molecular tethering etc. His lab is working to understand how motor proteins help in degradation and clearance of pathogens, and also how these motors work inside the liver to maintain systemic lipid homeostasis in the animal. Mallik is currently a professor at the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
Manju Sharma is an Indian biotechnologist and administrator of several scientific research and policy-making bodies in India. She was most recently the president and executive director at the Indian Institute of Advanced Research in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. She earlier served as the secretary, Department of Biotechnology, in the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology, and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007.
Gaiti Hasan is an Indian scientist who researches in the fields of molecular biology, genetics, neuroscience and cell signalling. Hasan is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), the apex body of Indian scientists and technologists. 2013 onwards she has been serving as a Senior Professor at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore.
Kalpathy Ramaier Katchap Easwaran 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. He is known for his contributions in the development of anti-fungal drugs and for his researches on ionophores and ion-transport across membranes. He is 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 1984, for his contributions to biological sciences.
Ghanshyam Swarup is an Indian molecular biologist, a J. C. Bose National Fellow and the head of the Ghanshyam Swarup Research Group of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. He is known for his studies on glaucoma and the discovery of protein tyrosine phosphatase, a new protein influencing the regulation of cell proliferation. Swarup is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the 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 1996, for his contributions to biological sciences.
Upinder Singh Bhalla is an Indian computational neuroscientist, academic and a professor at National Centre for Biological Sciences of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He is known for his studies on neuronal and synaptic signalling in memory and olfactory coding using computational and experimental methods and 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 biological sciences. The Infosys Science Foundation awarded him the Infosys Prize 2017 in Life Sciences for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of the brain's computational machinery.
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.
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.
Akhilesh Kumar Tyagi is an Indian plant biologist and the former director of National Institute of Plant Genome Research. Known for his studies on plant genomics and biotechnology, Tyagi is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies namely Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Sciences, India as well as The World Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. 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 1999.
Anil Grover is an Indian molecular biologist, professor and the head of the Department of Plant Molecular Biology at the University of Delhi. He also heads the Anil Grover Lab of the department, serving as the principal investigator. Known for his research in the field of molecular biology of plants, Grover is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies namely the National Academy of Sciences, India, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy as well as the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. 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 2002.
Ramanathan Sowdhamini is an Indian computational biologist, bioinformatician and a professor at the department of biochemistry, biophysics and bioinformatics of the National Centre for Biological Sciences, a TIFR research facility located in Bengaluru. Known for computational studies in the field of Protein Science, Sowdhamini is also associated with the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine as a collaborator and is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences as well as the Indian National Science Academy. 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 2007.
Chandrima Shaha is an Indian biologist. As of January 2023, she is the J. C. Bose Chair Distinguished Professor at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata. She is the former Director and former Professor of Eminence at the National Institute of Immunology. She was the President of Indian National Science Academy (2020–22) and the Vice President of the same academy (2016–2018). She is an elected fellow of the World Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences and the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology.
Alok Krishna Sinha is an Indian molecular biologist, biochemist, plant physiologist and a staff scientist Grade VII at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR). Known for his research on Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade in plants, he is a three-time Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India. 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 2013.
Manoj Prasad is an Indian plant geneticist, molecular biologist and working as a Senior Scientist and JC Bose National Fellow at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR). Known for his research on the stress biology of plants and virology, he is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the National Academy of Sciences, India, the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Indian Virological Society and was a recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship. 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 2014.
Dr. Jaya S. Tyagi is the Head, Department of Biotechnology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. She holds a specialization in Molecular Biology, Mycobacteriology and Gene Regulation. For her outstanding achievements throughout her career, she has received the prestigious Stree Shakti Award (2013) -The Parallel Force, said that this award is constituted for the women, by the women and of the women since 1988.
Jyotsna Dhawan is an Indian Cell and Developmental Biologist, Emeritus Scientist at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and Visiting Professor, Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem). Dhawan's research has focused on adult stem cell function and skeletal muscle regeneration. Dhawan is the current (2019-2021) President of the Indian Society for Cell Biology and the Indian Society of Developmental Biologists (2017-2020). Dhawan was elected as a fellow to the Indian National Science Academy in 2019.
