The President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam has given away the annual research awards in medical research instituted by Ranbaxy Science Foundation (RSF) to 11 scientists here on October 8, 2004. The awards were announced for the years 2002 & 2003 to scientists of Indian origin in recognition of outstanding original research contributions in the field of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
In his address, the President exhorted Indian medical research scientists to take up research on areas that are of particular interest to the country. Calling for a National Stem Cell Research Programme, the President wanted Indian scientists and pharmaceutical industry to come out with affordable curative and preventive methods for diseases like Sickle Cell Disease affecting millions of poor in the country. He was appreciative of the efforts taken up by Ranbaxy Laboratories in developing medicines for Malaria.
The theme address was delivered by Dr Nitya Anand, chairman, RSF. Tejendra Khanna, chairman Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited welcomed the audience. Dr Abid Hussain, member, governing council, RSF, proposed a vote of thanks.
The awardees for the year 2002 include Dr. Dinakar M. Salunke, staff scientist VII, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. He received the award in the field of Medical Sciences (Basic Research).
Dr. Subroto B Chatterjee, professor, Department of Paediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, USA. He was given the award in the field of Medical Sciences (Medical Research), for his discovery of a novel lipid second messenger pathway leading to cell proliferation.
Dr. C P Thakur, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Patna Medical College, Patna. He received the award in the field of Medical Sciences (Clinical Research), for his significant contribution towards the understanding of drug response in treatment of kala-azar.
Prof. V Nagaraja, professor, Department of Microbiology & Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Prof. Nagaraja was awarded for his outstanding contribution in the area of molecular biology of mycobacteria.
Dr. Ramesh Panchagnula, professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Punjab. Dr. Ramesh Panchagnula received the award in the field of pharmaceutical sciences for his outstanding contribution in understanding the molecular basis of drug delivery and developing technologies for delivery of various classes of drugs based on Biopharmaceutic Classification System as well as for development of simple surrogate markers for evaluation of quality of anti-TB formulations.
Awardees for the year 2003
Dr. Chaitan Khosla, professor of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, USA. He received the award in the field of Medical Sciences (Basic Research), for his groundbreaking work on understanding and exploiting the synthetic capacity of polyketide synthesis, which has revolutionized the field of natural product chemistry and drug discovery.
Dr. Mammen Chandy, professor & head, Department of Haematology, Christian Medical College, Vellore was honoured for his outstanding research contribution in the field of bone marrow transplantation
Dr. V M Katoch, director, Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy and other Mycobacterial Diseases, Agra, and Dr. Chella David, professor of Immunology, Mayo Medical School, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Dr. V M Katoch received the award for his outstanding research contribution in elucidating mechanisms of survival and drug resistance relevant for early diagnosis and monitoring of treatment of leprosy as well as tuberculosis. Dr. Chella David received the award for his outstanding research contribution in elucidating the Immunogenetic Mechanisms of autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Girish Sahni, scientist F, Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, and Dr. Bansi Lal, president & head of Research, Quest Institute of Life Sciences, Nicholas Piramal India Limited, Mumbai. Dr. Girish Sahni was given the award for his outstanding research contribution in developing innovative technologies for the production of life-saving clot-buster protein drugs used to treat circulatory disorders, including heart attacks. Dr. Bansi Lal received the award for his outstanding research work in discovering New Chemical Entities for Hypertension, Bronchial Asthma / Allergy and Cancer.
RSF invites nominations for Ranbaxy Research Awards every year. A jury comprising of 11 distinguished scientists from India, scrutinizes these nominations to select the awardees. Each award carries a citation, a trophy and a cash award of Rs 1 lakh. So far, 91 scientists have been honoured by the Foundation.