Samir K. Brahmachari

Samir Kumar Brahmachari (born 1 January 1952) is an Indian biophysicist and Director General of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, part of the Department of Science and Technology.

Career

Brahmachari gained a BSc in chemistry from the University of Calcutta in 1972, followed by an MSc in pure chemistry in 1974. In 1978 he completed a PhD in Molecular Biophysics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. He followed this with post-doctoral research at Paris Diderot University and a position as a visiting scientist at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 1979 he became a research associate at the Indian Institute of Science, and in 1981 became a lecturer. In 1986 he became an assistant professor, and in 1992 an Associate Professor. In 1997 he became a full professor, and the same year spent time as a visiting professor at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. On 11 August 1997 he became director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, part of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and on 12 November 2006 was made Director General of CSIR.^[1][2]

Brahmachari's work has primarily been research into DNA and its structure. He has discovered two genes linked to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia respectively,^[3] and his most significant achievement is considered to be the discovery of three genes linked to the SARS virus.^[4] His current work is related to polymorphism.^[5]

Recognition

He is one of the premier geneticists of India and pioneered the Bioinformatics revolution in IGIB. He is one of the select few to initiate large scale genetic studies of human diseases with a well built-in model framework for integration of clinical institutions and science research organizations in India. In his tenure as the director of IGIB he has initiated various projects aimed at translational research including mapping Indian genetic variations for disease gene exploration.

He also co-chaired the 13th Human Genome Organization meet with Prof. Edison Liu, HUGO president. The meet was held at Hyderabad International Convention Centre,^[6] Hyderabad, India.^[7]

Awards

• INSA Young Scientists Award,1979;
• Kani Medal (National Cancer Research Centre, Japan), 1981;
• Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (CSIR) 1990;
• FICCI Award (1999);
• Millennium Medal (Indian Science Congress) 2000;
• Ranbaxy Research Award (2001);
• Prof. B.R. Ambedkar Centenary Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research (ICMR) 2005;
• J.C. Bose Medal (INSA) 2007;
• H. K. Firodia Awards For Excellence In Science and Technology (2007).^[2]

References