Dr Amitabha Chattopadhyay, Deputy Director, Centre For Cellular And Molecular Biology (CCMB) has been selected for the prestigious Ranbaxy Research Award in basic research in Medical Sciences for his pioneering contribution on the role of membrane lipids in the organisation and function of G-protein coupled receptors, and its implications in health and disease.
His group was the first to demonstrate the vital requirement of membrane cholesterol on the organisation and function of the serotonin1A (5-HT1A) receptor by making intelligent use of biochemical, biophysical and cell biological approaches. His recent work has shown that the function of this important neurotransmitter receptor (the serotonin1A receptor) is impaired in diseases such as the Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS) in which cholesterol biosynthesis is defective. Interestingly, Dr Chattopadhyay's group was the first to show that host membrane cholesterol plays an important role in the process of infection caused by the parasite Leishmania donovani, which results in leishmaniasis.
Dr Chattopadhyay joined CCMB in the year 1989 as a Group Leader and has published more than 120 research papers in peer-reviewed national and international journals, and edited and reviewed five books. He has received several awards for his outstanding research contributions in biological sciences, such as the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, Raman Research Fellowship, and Dozor Visiting Fellow (Israel), to name a few. He is also a Fellow of all three Indian Academies of Science, besides being a Member of the Editorial Boards of several reputed international journals.