With the term of present director general of Indian Council of Medical Research Prof N K Ganguly ending by November this year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has initiated steps to choose his successor by constituting a selection panel.

The Minister has formed the search-cum-selection committee, which has started functioning by calling in applications from the desiring aspirants. In accordance with the existing practice, nominations are being invited from members of the governing body and the scientific advisory board of the ICMR, eminent medical scientists, heads of universities/medical college/biomedical research institutes, directors of health services/medical education in States, vice-chancellors of universities and science counsellors of major Indian Missions abroad.

"The nominees must be outstanding medically qualified scientists in India, with the highest academic attainments in the field of biomedical research and with a high national and international standing /reputation. They should also have proven managerial/administrative ability to enable them to plan, guide and implement the vast, varied and multifaceted activities of the ICMR," sources said.

The council currently has 26 permanent Research Institutes/Centres located in different parts of India. It also funds and monitors a large number of extramural (Grant-in-aid) projects in different Medical Colleges, Universities and other non-ICMR Institutes.

Prof Ganguly, specialized in infectious diseases and biotechnology, took over as the ICMR chief in March 1998. His tenure will end by November this year. With more than 550 research papers and many books, Dr Ganguly has contributed significantly to the medical sciences.