Annual Event 2021 (Virtual)

Dr. Etika Agarwal is working as Research Engineer at GE Research at Bangalore, Karnataka, and developing optimization, machine learning and control algorithms to build intelligent, performance-aware autonomous systems with applications in microgrids, energy systems, transportation and healthcare. Dr. Agarwal pursued her Bachelors of Technology in Avionics from Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. After her bachelors, she worked as a scientist at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Dr. Agarwal joined University of Notre Dame to complete her Masters and PhD in electrical engineering. Dr. Agarwal also worked as a research intern at GE Research learning skills such as data science, machine learning, Data-Driven Modelling, Time Series Analysis, Forecasting, and MATLAB. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Agarwal will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of Engineering R&D in Industry and will be answering questions regarding R&D in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Read More...

Dr. Aseem Ansari is a Professor and the Chair of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He is the Founder of WINstep Forward, a non-profit organization, dedicated to promoting transnational science and technology exchange. It partners with Govt of India agencies to run Khorana and S. N. Bose scholar exchange programs. To dismantle barriers for globally.-trained STEM professionals to develop careers in India, Prof. Ansari and WINStep Forward created Science and Technology Research Opportunities in India (Sci-ROI) in 2015. Read More...

Dr. Sumanta Bagchi, is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Science He joined the Center for Ecological Sciences in 2012. His lab works at the intersection of biology, ecology, and natural history. His research covers topics related to how natural and human-modified ecosystems respond to disturbance and change in climate. He also specialized in topics like Biodiversity and Global change, Plant-herbivore interactions and Wildlife Conservation. Dr Bagchi completed his Phd from Syracuse University in 2009 and a postdoctoral training from Texas A&M University in 2012. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Bagchi will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where he will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of Environmental Science and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Read More...

Dr Sarala Balachandran is currently engaged as Head, Research & Assessment Board (RAB) of CSIR which looks into the recruitment and assessment processes of all CSIR scientists. After obtaining PhD in 1991, for the last 30 years she is engaged in scientific research and management. After obtaining PhD in Organic chemistry from India, she carried out postdoctoral work at the Cambridge University, England with Sir Alan Battersby in the area of biosynthesis and synthesis of vitamin B12. On her return to India, she worked with couple of top Indian pharmaceutical companies in the areas of New Drug Discovery and Development rising from Group Leader to Assistant Director. After that, she left to join CSIR Head Quarters at New Delhi as Chief Scientist (Scientist G). She worked as Project Director in the Open Source Drug Discovery unit of CSIR. She also spear headed the Phase IIa clinical trial clinical trial with TB Alliance US which was conducted at LRS hospital, New Delhi. In 2016, she moved to CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi., wherein headed the HR Division and managed about 350 students and temporary scientific staff and stream lined all the work concerning their work at IGIB. Recently in 2021, she joined as Head, Research & Assessment Board (RAB) of CSIR which looks into the recruitment and assessment processes of all CSIR scientists (Group IV staff). Besides gaining academic experience both in India (CDRI, CIMAP, IIT New Delhi, CSIR HQ, CSIR-IGIB, CSIR-RAB) and abroad (Cambridge University England, Institute Armand Frappier Canada, Virginia State University and Polytechnic Blacksburg US) and industrial experience working with pharmaceutical companies in India, she led close collaborative projects with multinationals like GSK and Merck while working in the two companies. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Balachandran will be a speaker/panelist at the Opportunity Landscape Panel, where we will be discussing about latest funding, research and entrepreneurial opportunities from Indian R&D funding organizations and companies with top policy-makers. Listen to her pre-recorded talk on the programs being run by CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/602144729?h=012aa93c5c Read More...

Dr. Arun Bandyopadhyay is the director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology. He primarily works in the field of Cell Biology and Physiology. His research interests include cardiovascular biology and respiratory disorders. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and an elected fellow of the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology. Dr. Bandyopadhyay will be a panel member at the Established Academic Institutes Panel, representing CSIR-IICB and will be answering questions regarding job opportunities, funding, teaching/research and other resources in IICB. Learn more about research facilities available at IICB from Dr. Bandyopadhyay's pre-recorded talks - https://player.vimeo.com/video/605576769?h=fed1e3c0e9 Read More...

Dr. Arnab Bhattacharya is the Centre Director of Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education and Research, Mumbai. He is also a professor in the Dept. of Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science, TIFR, Mumbai. He is also the Chair for science popularization and public outreach at TIFR, Mumbai. Dr. Bhattacharya received his PhD in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997. He joined TIFR, Mumbai in 2000. His research focuses in the area of compound semiconductor optoelectronics. His lab specializes in the epitaxial growth and characterization of bulk and low-dimensional III-V semiconductors, particularly the III-Nitrides, and their use in device structures. In 2012, Dr. Bhattacharya has received the Chevening Fellowship for Science and Innovation Leadership from the University of Oxford - Said Business School. He has also received the 2017 INSA Indira Gandhi Prize for Science Popularization. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Bhattacharya will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where he will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Physics' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Read More...

Dr. Amit Biswas is an R&D Management Expert and a Pharma & Polymer Technology Advisor. He obtained his Ph.D. in Polymer Science from Case Western Reserve University after completing his B.Tech. in Chem. Engg. from IIT-Bombay. Dr. Biswas started his industrial R&D career as a research scientist at Dupont R&D in Delaware. Subsequently, he transitioned into the Indian industry in several R&D leadership roles in companies such as ICI Paints, GE Plastics and Reliance Industries Ltd. Before retiring in 2018, Dr. Biswas was the Executive Vice President and Global Head of Generics R&D at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. He has been a member of Research & Technology Councils in several IIT’s and CSIR laboratories. Currently, Dr. Biswas is actively engaged in a few company Boards and Technology Councils at the industry level. He is also an advisor to global consulting companies on R&D organization design, leadership training and emerging technology platforms. As a panelist in Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Biswas will be sharing his valuable insights on successful approaches to transitioning into industry from academia, and various opportunities in the Indian pharma & chemical industry. Listen to his pre-recorded talk on the current trends of Indian industry and his career journey here - https://player.vimeo.com/video/600641048?h=1d7037784a Read More...

Mohanish Borana is the Communication Specialist at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India. He handles SciComm at the country's apex body for Science, Technology and Innovation. Dr. Borana is involved in Communication strategies for COVID19 awareness, Largest-ever Inoculation Drive, STIP 2020 consultation, PM-STIAC's missions, I-STEM, S&T Clusters, Industry & Foundation Engagement, Synergy Project, Mega Science Vision etc. He also manages @PrinSciAdvOff Twitter handle, Facebook page and LinkedIn profile. Mohanish received his Integrated M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from University of Mumbai and Dept. of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences. He received his Master of Science by Research degree from the University of Edinburgh, UK. He has also studied Science and Technology Policy at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex, UK. Mohanish will be a speaker/panelist at the Non-Traditional Careers Panel, representing Science Communication Field and will be answering questions regarding science communication field in India, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Watch his pre-recorded talk about his career journey, current job position and science communication in India here — https://player.vimeo.com/video/600017851?h=ecf7b264b3 Read More...

Dr. Ranjan Bose is currently the director of IIIT-Delhi. His research interests lie in the areas of secure communications, coding theory, ultra-wideband (UWB) communications, broadband wireless access and wireless security. Dr. Bose received his B.Tech. degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),Kanpur, India in 1992 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA in 1993 and 1995, respectively. He worked at Alliance Semiconductor Inc., San Jose, CA, as a Senior Design Engineer from 1996 to 1997. Since November 1997 he has been with the Department of Electrical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he was the Microsoft Chair Professor and headed the Wireless Research Lab. Dr. Bose has published over one hundred and sixty research papers in refereed journals and conferences, and filed for sixteen patents, including one granted US Patent. He received the URSI Young Scientist award in 1999, the Humboldt Fellowship in July 2000, the Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE) Young Engineers Award in 2003, the AICTE Career Award for Young Teachers in 2004, the BOYSCAST Fellowship in 2005 and Dr. Vikram Sarabhai Research Award for the year 2013. Dr. Bose will be a panel member at the Upcoming Academic Institutes Panel, representing IIIT-D and will be answering questions regarding career opportunities, teaching and research philosophies at IIT-D. Click here to watch his pre-recorded presentation on IIIT-D: https://player.vimeo.com/video/595296360?h=f50f7e5e11 Read More...

Dr. Chakraborty is currently the Director of Research and Development at Ashoka. He works closely with the academic leadership team to concretize the university’s academic and research administration. He supports framing policies, guidelines and developing implementation strategies to facilitate faculty and scholar doing excellent research and fostering new research initiatives (projects, collaborations, centers, etc.). Dr. Chakraborty supervises three main verticals of the Research and Development Office at Ashoka – Grant Management, Research Infrastructure Management, and Research Personnel Management. He has almost ten years of experience (2021) as university administrators in India. Previously he was the Assistant Registrar and then officiated as the Deputy Registrar at Presidency University (Kolkata, India). At Presidency he worked with the leadership team and participated in the task of transforming a great college more than two hundred years old into a twenty-first-century research university. Dr. Chakraborty completed a BSc. (Hons) in Physics, an MSc and a Ph.D in Nanoscience from University of Calcutta. During his PhD, his research interests were in nanoparticle synthesis and applications, reaction kinetics study, and sophisticated imaging techniques. Further, he is interested in research in Higher Education Management and Policy issues. His recent scholarly works on Indian higher education have appeared at 'Globalisation, Societies and Education', 'Outlook', ‘Sustainability’ etc. He has been awarded the India Research Management Initiative (IRMI) grant by the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance in 2021 to create a new vertical on Research Grants Advising, understand the best practices and build networks in this field. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Chakraborty will be a speaker/panelist in the Non-Traditional Careers Panel, representing Research Management Field and will be answering questions regarding research management in India, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Watch his pre-recorded talk about his career journey, current position and resources available to budding research managers in India — https://player.vimeo.com/video/599316304?h=6cb0571812 Read More...

Dr. Chakraborty is a professor at the department of mechanical engineering, institute chair and JC Bose National Fellow, and the Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy at IIT-Kgp. His lab focuses on the area of microfluidics, miniaturization and micro/nano scale transport processes. He has also established a pathway of translating high end laboratory research to remote and under-developed locations. His group has come up with the COVIRAP test for COVID-19, which has proven to be an ultra-low cost user friendly device platform for diagnosis. Dr. Chakraborty did his PhD from IISc in 2002 and then joined IIT-Kgp as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Chakraborty has published 480+ papers in international journals of high repute. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Chakraborty will be a speaker/panelist at the 'Entrepreneurship in India' Panel, representing 'Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy' at IIT-Kgp, an incubator hub for new start-up ideas, and will be answering questions regarding entrepreneurial landscape in India, and what incubator hubs can do for start-up founders and academic entrepreneurs. Learn more about how IIT-Kgp is helping aspiring entrepreneurs start their journey here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/619890780?h=cd00d7f282 Read More...

Dr. Vadapalli Chandrasekhar is a professor and the Center Director of Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR), Hyderabad. His research interests are in the area of molecular materials, inorganic rings and polymers, main-group organometallic chemistry and polynuclear metal assemblies. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and then worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. Before his current appointment, Dr. Chandreskhar has held several senior positions including the Head of the Department of Chemistry at IIT Kanpur, Dean of Faculty Affairs at IIT Kanpur, Senior Professor/Dean at TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, Hyderabad and as the Director of National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar. He has been a recipient of several national and international awards including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award of the Council and Scientific Industrial Research, India, and the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Bessel Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. He is an elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, the National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad, the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi and the World Academy of Sciences, Trieste, Italy. He has been on the editorial board of several journals including, Organometallics. Currently, he is on the editorial board of Dalton Transactions as its Associate Editor. His research work is documented in 360+ publications. Dr. Chandrasekhar will be a panel member at the Established Academic Institutes Panel, representing TIFR-Hyderabad and will be answering questions regarding job opportunities, funding and other resources at TIFR Listen to his pre-recorded talk about teaching and research resources in TIFR-H as well as recruitment of young faculty here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600032785?h=20629cbfe2 Read More...

Dr. Chandru is an academic and an entrepreneur. As an academic, he serves as an adjunct faculty member of BioSystems Science & Engineering and a visiting professor of the Robert Bosch Centre for Cyberphysical Systems at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). As an entrepreneur, he is a founder of Strand Life Sciences, a computational biology company, and of the Association of Biotech led Enterprises (ABLE) and continues to serve in these in executive and advisory capacities. Dr. Chandru earned his PhD in the mathematics of decision sciences (operations research) at MIT. He has taught and conducted research in the computational mathematics of optimization, geometry, logic and biology at Purdue University and IISc, Bangalore. He has co-authored a book in computational logic, edited several volumes and published over seventy peer-reviewed research papers. He was elected a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1996. He also served as the president of the Operations Research Society of India. For work with Strand and biotechnology, he was named a Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum in 2007 and the Biospectrum Biotech Entrepreneur of 2007. For contributions to Science and Society, Professor Chandru was awarded the Hari Om Trust Award by University Grants Commission (MHRD) in 2003, the President's Medal of INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and Management Studies) in 2006, and was named in the 50 pioneers of change by India Today in 2008. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Chandru will be a speaker/panelist at the Entrepreneurship Panel and will be answering questions regarding starting and running companies in India and the current funding and mentoring landscape for entrepreneurship in India. Read More...

Dr. Suryakanta Dalai is currently working as an associate director with Jubilant Biosys, Noida. He carries a rich experience of more than 15 years in contract research organization (CRO) serving many multinational pharmaceutical and BioTech clients. He obtained his master of Science degree from University of Hyderabad. During his PhD at George-August University, Goettingen, Germany with Prof. Armin de Meijere, Dr. Surya was involved in development of a novel route for highly reactive Michael acceptor methylene cyclopropane and utilized it for synthesis of biologically active tetrahydro-quinazolinone derivatives, spircyclopropane oxazolidine and spirocyclopryl analogue of Tadalafil®. In 2005, Dr. Surya moved to National Taiwan University, Taipei and carried out his post-doctoral research with Prof. T. Y. Luh on Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) reaction of norbornene derivatives containing hydrogen-bonding side chain towards the synthesis of DNA like helical double-stranded polymer. Before moving to Jubilant Biosys in the year 2010, Dr. Dalai had spent more than 3 years with GVKBio Science, Hyderabad (currently Aragen Life Science) and engaged in a collaboration with Wyeth. His research focus is mainly on synthesis of biologically important novel heterocycles, synthesis and utilization of challenging highly-strained cycloproply alcohols, amines and methylene cyclopropanes. Recent interest of his team focus on PROTAC technology, PhotoRedox reaction and Transition metal catalyzed C-C bond formation through C-H activation. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Dalai will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of R&D in Chemical Industry and will be answering questions regarding R&D in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Learn more about his current job, his journey so far and transition from academia here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/616499173?h=91c8e45e7a Read More...

Dr. Krishna Ella is the Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Biotech International Limited, which he incorporated in 1996. Under Dr. Ella’s leadership, Bharat Biotech has grown to become a global leader in innovative vaccines. A serial entrepreneur with a passion for innovative ideas, Dr. Ella has also ventured into veterinary vaccines, food processing, and developing biotechnology infrastructure in the country. A gold medallist at university, Dr. Ella worked as a research faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A research scientist in Molecular Biology, Dr. Ella strongly believes that innovative technology in vaccine development is essential to solve public healthcare problems caused by infectious diseases. Dr. Ella is also involved in shaping India’s science education and policy through his association with several committees such as: Scientific Advisory Committee to the Union Cabinet, CSIR Governing Council, CCMB Governing Council, Research Council for CSIR National Laboratories, Board of Visitors – Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Several awards have been conferred on Dr. Ella including the ET Now Special Recognition for Healthcare Industry Award, J R D Tata—Best Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Marico Innovation Award and University of Southern California—Asia-Pacific Leadership Award. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Ella will be a speaker/panelist at the Opportunity Landscape Panel, where we will be discussing about latest funding, research and entrepreneurial opportunities from Indian R&D funding organizations and companies with top policy-makers. Read More...

Dr. Swapna Ganduri is a senior scientific writer for Novartis. She obtained her Ph.D. from IISC Bangalore and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medicine. As a researcher she worked on the cellular dynamics of DNA-protein interactions. She transitioned to scientific writing as a freelance editor for Cactus Communications and later joined Novartis as a scientific writer. Dr Ganduri is a panel member at our Non-Traditional Career Panel and will be talking about her transition from being a bench scientist to a scientific writer, and answering questions about a scientific writer career in India. Watch her pre-recorded talk about her career journey, current position and opportunities for aspiring scientific writer in India here — https://player.vimeo.com/video/600014304?h=8246339fcb Read More...

Dr. Ritu Gaur is a faculty in the department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology at South Asian University and the University’s ex-Associate Dean (2018-19). Prior to joining SAU, she was a faculty at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi. She obtained her PhD in Life Science from National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi and was a post-doctoral fellow at Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, NIAID, NIH, USA. Her research interests include host-pathogen interactions in HIV and development of antivirals. Prof Ritu Gaur will be a panel member at the Upcoming Academic Institutes Panel, representing South Asian University and will be answering questions regarding career opportunities, teaching and research philosophies at SAU. Listen to her pre-recorded talk on available resources and recruitment in SAU here: https://player.vimeo.com/video/600025520?h=f19d0cce86 Read More...

Dr. Debashree Ghosh is the associate professor in IACS. Her research focuses on developing and applying accurate quantum chemical methods to understand the interaction between light and coupled bio-chromophores. She uses tools from electronic structure theory to understand the energy states of the chromophores and their coupling to each other. Dr. Ghosh received her PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Cornell University in 2009. After completing her post-doctoral research at University of California, Los Angeles, Dr. Ghosh joined National Chemical Laboratory, Pune in 2012 as a senior scientist. In 2017, she joined Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata as an Associate Professor. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Ghosh will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where she will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Physical/Computational Chemistry' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Listen to her interview with Rohit and Somnath (Sci-ROI volunteers) on how she has established her different research ideas and proposals in her independent lab, received funding and how she has benefitted from the uniqueness and strength of Indian STEM economy here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600611272?h=a484d13abf Read More...

Dr. Anusuya Ghosh is currently an Operations Research Specialist at Thoucentric. In her current role Dr. Ghosh oversees business strategy and modelling creation, including requirement analysis, implementation, and performance improvement. Dr. Ghosh earned her PhD from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay with specialization in topics like Mathematical Programming, Optimization, Convex Analysis, Linear and Nonlinear Programming and followed by her postdoctoral work at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore on application-oriented topics like Production and Inventory Management. Further she has transitioned into Indian industry and worked in different roles e.g. as a senior consultant at Ernst & Young (EY), and as a data scientist at Grofers. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Ghosh will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of R&D in Engg. Industry and will be answering questions regarding R&D in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Listen to Dr. Ghosh's experience at Thoucentric and her transition from academia to industry in India here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/606844788?h=39f8c1c7de Read More...

Dr. Deeksha Gupta is the Associate Director-India, Editorial, Society Programs & Services at the American Chemical Society. She is responsible for driving the sustained growth of ACS journals, Science Outreach, Membership and Education products, programs, and services in India. She earned her Ph.D. from IIT Delhi and worked as Research Consultant at Momentive Performance Materials (Formerly, GE Silicones) Bangalore. She pursued her Postdoctoral Research at The City University of New York, USA. Before joining ACS in 2016, she was Editorial Development Executive-India at Royal Society of Chemistry responsible for journals, books, magazines, and building relationships with the Indian scientific community in India. She has been part of several advisory panels, committees including AWSAR, DST, Govt. of India. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Gupta will be a speaker/panelist at the Non-Traditional Careers Panel, representing Scientific Publishing Field and will be answering questions regarding scientific publishing in India, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Listen to her pre-recorded presentation on her career journey, current job position and available resources for a career in scientific publishing in India here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/601765522?h=99ac553930 Read More...

At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Gupta will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of R&D in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry and will be answering questions regarding R&D in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Listen to his pre-recorded presentation about his career at Pfizer and his journey so far here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/613897355?h=1ea5bb7d72 Read More...

Dr, Smita Jain is the Associate Director of Academic & Government Relations in India at Cactus Communications. Prior to joining CACTUS, she led IndiaBioscience for five years as the Executive Director and was responsible for establishing the strategic vision and partnerships; growth, fundraising, grants and team management; and overseeing the activities of the networking, communication, education, data & policy and skill-building verticals. She is an enabler, mentor, and leader with 15+ years of experience in science promotion, communication and business development. She has a strong-knit network of varied stakeholders, including the head of institutions and the key policymakers in the government in the life science research sector in India. She is passionate about 'Careers in Science', 'Mentoring', and developing courses for 'professional development'. Dr. Jain has a Ph.D. degree from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with a history of working in the biotechnology industry at the start of the career trajectory. Dr. Jain was a recipient of #IRMI Research Management Grant of India Alliance. She is also a member of the review group for the programs and activities of NCSTC, DST, GoI and an invited member of the advisory group set up for Resource Book on Biographies of 75 Women Scientists by DST, GoI. At Sci-ROI 2021, she will be giving a plenary talk on 'How to Showcase your Transferrable Skills?' where she will focus on showing how to present someone's soft skills like communication, problem solving, critical thinking, management, networking, team-work, etc. in a CV/resume when applying for both academic and non-academic positions. Read More...

Dr. Sudhir Jain is the current director of IIT Gandhinagar. He is a civil engineer and professor at IIT Gandhinagar who works on earthquake engineering and structural dynamics in India. He is an elected fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (2021) for leadership in earthquake engineering in developing countries. He earned Bachelor of Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in 1979, and Masters and Doctoral degrees from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena in 1980 and 1983 respectively. He was recently awarded a PadmaShri in 2020 for his distinguished service in the field of Science & Engineering. Dr. Jain will be a panel member at the Upcoming Academic Institutes Panel, representing IIT Gandhinagar and will be answering questions regarding career opportunities at IIT-Gn. Listen to Dr. Jain's pre-recorded talk on available resources and recruitment in IIT-Gn here: https://player.vimeo.com/video/600023060?h=61c2d34a73 Read More...

Dr. Arjun Jayadev is the Director at School of Arts and Sciences at Azim Premji University. He is also a professor of Economics at Azim Premji University who works on International Economics, Economics of Distribution, Political Economy, Macroeconomic Dynamics, and Economics of Power. He has previously taught at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is also a Senior Economist at the Institute for New Economic Thinking. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and was an inaugural post-doctoral fellow at the Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University. His research combines quantitative and theoretical analysis of Finance, Development, Political Economy and Intellectual Property. He is also the editor of the Journal of Globalization and Development (along with Joseph Stiglitz, Dani Rodrik, Jose Antonio Ocampo and Martin Guzman). Dr Jayadev will be a panel member at the Upcoming Academic Institutes Panel, representing Azim Premji University and will be answering questions regarding career opportunities, teaching and research philosophies at APU. Listen to his pre-recorded talk about resources and recruitment at Azim Premji University here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600027127?h=ab92945acc Read More...

Dr. Anoop Krishnan is an Assistant Professor at the Civil Engineering department at IIT Delhi. His group works on various topics related to material design and simulations, including projects on glasses, disordered materials, and cements. Dr Krishnan completed his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Science Bangalore in 2015, after which, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in University of California Los Angeles from 2015 to 2017. Prior to this, he completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from NIT Calicut in 2009. In October 2017, he joined IIT Delhi as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. He also holds a joint position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, IIT Delhi. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Krishnan will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where he will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Civil Engg' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Listen to his interview on how he has established her different research ideas and proposals in his independent lab, received funding and how he has utilized the uniqueness and strength of Indian STEM economy here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/611000284?h=8489301267 Read More...

Dr. Janesh Kumar is a Senior Scientist at the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune. Dr. Kumar received his PhD degree from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in 2007 working on the structural biology of secretory glycoproteins. Following this, he carried out postdoctoral research at NICHD, NIH, Bethesda. During the six years at NIH, he investigated the mechanisms of ionotropic glutamate receptor assembly, activation and desensitization. Dr. Kumar’s lab at NCCS, Pune focuses on the structure, function and regulation of glutamate receptor ion channels that play key roles in synaptic neurotransmission and plasticity. Dr. Kumar won the Fellows Award in Research Excellence (FARE) at NIH twice in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He was awarded the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Intermediate Fellowship and Ramanujan Fellowship in 2013. At Sci-ROI 2021, he has pre-recorded his thoughts and experiences on how he tailored his research to benefit from Indian ecosystem and the current research opportunities available in the field oof structural biology. He will also provide expert feedback to participants with structural biology background about the same during the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel. Listen to his interview on how he has established his different research ideas and proposals in his independent lab, received funding and how he has benefitted from the uniqueness and strength of Indian STEM economy here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600613054?h=d9b3c9a53c Read More...

Dr. Debabrata Maiti is a Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He started his independent career in 2011 at IIT Bombay working on the regioselective transformation of C-X bonds via a plethora of functionalization/defunctionalization pathways through metal catalyzed chemical processes. Their group also studies remote C-H functionalization, Bioinspired catalysis, and Quantum Dots (QD) Photoredox catalysis. Prof. Maiti completed his PhD in bio-inorganic chemistry from Johns Hopkins University, USA. He then moved to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to do post-doctoral studies with Prof. Professor Stephen L. Buchwald. Dr. Maiti serves as Associate Editor at the Journal of Organic Chemistry, Distinguished Adjunct Professor at King Abdulaziz University, Visiting Faculty at WRHI, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan Visiting Faculty, CAPES, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, University of Pavia, Italy. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Maiti will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where he will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Organic/Inorganic Chemistry' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Listen to his interview on how he has established his different research ideas and proposals in his independent lab, received funding and how he has benefitted from the uniqueness and strength of Indian STEM economy here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/613147827?h=dc5ca7a65d Read More...

Dr. Souvik Maiti has joined the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), CSIR, at Delhi, in the Proteomics and Structural Biology Unit after completing his Ph.D at Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad and postdoc trainings at University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA and Curie University, France. His group at IGIB focuses on an integrated research with main focus on understanding nucleic-acid structure and function, and extrapolating this information in understanding the subtle mechanism of gene regulation. He is known for his studies on biophysical aspect of quadruplexes, locked nucleic acids and silencing microRNAs by small molecules. Dr. Maiti received multiple awards, such as the CSIR Young Scientist Award in chemical sciences in 2007; Scopus Young Scientist Award in Chemical Science in 2010; and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Chemical Sciences in 2014. He also received DBT Bioscience Award 2015, TATA Innovation Fellowship in 2020, and VASVIK Award for Biological Science & Technology 2021. Most recently, Dr. Maiti along with his colleague, Debojyoti Chakraborty, has co-invented a rapid test for COVID-19, FnCas9 Editor-Linked Uniform Detection Assay, FELUDA. (named after Feluda, a popular fictional detective created by the late Satyajit Ray.) Tata Sons has signed a MOU with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for the ‘licensing of knowhow’ of FELUDA for scale-up production and mass testing for COVID-19. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Maiti will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where he will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Cell/Micro/Molecular Biology/Genetics' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Listen to his interview on how he has established his different research ideas and proposals in his independent lab, received funding and how he has benefited from the uniqueness and strength of Indian STEM economy here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600625305?h=6262059ef4 Read More...

Dr. Tathagata Mukherjee is currently working as a general manager at Gennova Biopharmaceuticals. He has also been head of the Formulation Development laboratory in the Research and Development, developing lyophilized versions of API and finished products, liposomal formulation for therapeutics as well as targeted drug delivery systems. Dr. Mukherjee completed his PhD in chemical biology from Cornell University working on characterization of the mechanism and kinetic parameters of tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase and its mutants. After finishing his PhD, Dr. Mukherjee worked as visiting fellow at National Institutes of Health studying the active site of the enzyme Rv3547 from M. tuberculosis H37Rv through mutagenesis studies. Dr. Mukherjee later transitioned to industry joining as R&D Manager at Gennova Biopharmaceuticals. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Mukherjee will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of R&D in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry and will be answering questions regarding R&D in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Read More...

Dr. Suryesh K Namdeo is the Programme officer of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy fellowship programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. His responsibilities include the overall coordination of the programme, capacity development and partnership building. He works at DST Centre for Policy Research at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. Dr. Namdeo also leads the STI Diplomacy project at the DST-CPR-IISc. Dr. Namdeo is also involved in the STI Policy and Science Diplomacy with Science Policy Forum (SPF). SPF is the official partner with DST and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India for the public consultation process of the upcoming national STI Policy. Dr. Namdeo holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany and has a Master's degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune and a Diploma in Biology from JNCASR Bengaluru. Dr. Namdeo will be a speaker/panelist at the Non-Traditional Careers Panel, representing science policy and program management fields and will be answering questions regarding science policy and program management in India, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Listen to his pre-recorded talk about his career journey, current position and the field of science policy and program manager here — https://player.vimeo.com/video/600013171?h=d37b4d6473 Read More...

Dr. Renu Pandey is working as a consultant at Monitor Deloitte. Previously, she worked as Business Analyst at Deloitte working as a specialist with therapy area transformation (TAT) team within the life sciences and healthcare. Dr. Pandey completed her doctorate from Delhi University studying the relation between aging, healthspan and autophagy in the background of SIN-3 mutation in round worm C. elegans. She also worked as an Assistant Professor at Delhi University and Research Associate at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Centre for Biomedical research prior to transitioning in management consulting. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Pandey will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of Consultancy in Industry and will be answering questions regarding management consultancy in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Read More...

Dr. Puspalata Pattojoshi is a Professor and Dean of School of Applied Sciences at KIIT University. Her work revolves around teaching, research, academic administration, Science communication, Education technology and Open innovation. Her current research is shape and size tunability at nanoscale, from plant based precursors, intended for photonics and biomedical applications. She obtained her PhD from Utkal University, and MBA from Xavier Institute of Management. She spent 17 years at C V Raman College of Engineering as a professor and head of Physics department. From 2014 onwards she is at KIIT. She is passionate about technology innovations and science outreach, and associated with several organizations and projects including Smart Village Living Laboratory project, IEEE, SPIE, ENoLL., and Special Interest Group in Humanitarian Technology. Dr. Pattojoshi will be a panel member at the Established Academic Institutes Panel, representing KIIT and will be answering questions regarding job opportunities, funding and other resources in KIIT. Listen to her pre-recorded talk about resources avaibale at KIIT for young faculty here - https://player.vimeo.com/video/599749764?h=4816376c92 Read More...

Dr. S.R.S. Prabaharan is a Professor and Joint Director, Office of the Directorate of Research, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, India. Before this appointment, he held many administrative roles in various places. In Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, he served as Professor and Dean of the School of Electronics Engineering. Before that. Prof. Prabaharan spent over 18 years abroad holding various academic titles in universities in Malaysia, the USA, France, and Japan. He was promoted to Full Professorship in 2011 during his long tenure in the University of Nottingham Malaysia/UK campuses as a Professor of Electronics. He performed administrative roles such as the head of Power and Energy Research Division, Strand Leader for Electronic Engineering Division. He received a prestigious Erasmus Mundus visiting professorship sponsored by the European Union (EU) in 2008 and held a visiting professorship in France. He is also the recipient of the UK-Singapore visiting scientist materials award in 2007 and was invited to conduct short-term research at the University of Sheffield, UK. Recently, he has held a visiting professorship in Tohoku University, Japan. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Prabaharan will be a panel member at the Established Academic Institutes Panel, representing SRM and will be answering questions regarding job opportunities, funding/teaching/research and other resources in SRM. Listen to his pre-recorded presentation about research/teaching and other opportunities at SRM here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600606576?h=b96bac0cd7 Read More...

Prof. Thalappil Pradeep is a Professor of Chemistry, an Institute Chair Professor, and an Institute Professor at IIT Madras. Prof. Pradeep earned a Ph. D degree in chemical physics working with Professors C. N. R. Rao and M. S. Hegde at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Subsequently, he spent about two years as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley and Purdue University, Indiana. Since then, he has been working at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He has also held visiting positions at several universities outside India. Dr. Pradeep is also an entrepreneur and has been involved in various efforts based on his research. Four companies based on his lab’s work have been incubated, with funding secured for two of them. His efforts have been directed towards creative and practical solutions for tackling water purity and related issues that plague India. His company, InnoDI, focuses on the use of capacitive deionization to treat ground and surface water into a potable state, while Vayujal is a venture into condensation of water “out of thin air”. Prof. Pradeep has also conceptualized and built the International Centre for Clean Water at IIT Madras, which acts as an incubation center for water-related research and technologies. Prof. Pradeep is the recipient of various awards, including the World Academy of Sciences Prize in Chemistry, the Nikkei Asia Prize, and the highly prestigious Padma Shri award. We are honored to have him here and look forward to learning from the discussion today. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Pradeep will be a speaker/panelist at the Entrepreneurship Panel, where he will present a live talk on how he pitched his idea, got funding and started his company. He will also be a part of the panel discussion where we will discuss about the entrepreneurship landscape in India. Read More...

Mr. Prakasam is currently a Partner at Acumen, a Lead Angel Investor at Indian Angel Network, Founder Chairman at NATIVELEAD (non-profit organization promoting innovation-based New Age entrepreneurship in Tier II & III region) and an advisor and Mentor in Residence at NSRCEL. He currently operates as the board of directors for multiple companies, including Farmers Fresh Zone, Carbon Masters, GoCoop, Sahaas Zero Waste, SP Robotic Works, Neurosypnatic Communications Private Ltd., and many more. Mr. Prakasam did his MBA from San Diego State University in 2003. In 2016, he was featured in Forbes India as an angel investor looking to fund enterprises that have a definite impact on society. At Sci-ROI 2021, Mr. Prakasam will be a panelist at the Entrepreneurship Panel, where he will be representing an Indian angel investor, and will be discussing about the role that angel investors and Indian Angel Network play in the entrepreneurship landscape of India. Read More...

Dr. Vineetha Raghavan is the Head of the vertical “Grants & Research Collaborations” within the Research Development Office at the Bangalore Life Sciences Cluster. Her responsibilities include strategic grants advise, bid development, operations management, strategy formulation, global engagement, management of GoI clearances for grants involving foreign funding or collaboration, grant related contracts & collaborative research agreements and developing institutional policies impacting grants and development of the Team RDO. She is also actively involved in outreach to different funding agencies via visits, hosting of delegations from national and international funding agencies, participation in funding road shows and organising and participation in grant writing and funding workshops. Dr. Raghavan holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Technology and then did two postdocs from Yale School of Medicine and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. After that, she transitioned to a Grants Advisor position at NCBS in 2010, where she moved up to a Grants Manager position and then Head-RDO. Dr. Raghavan will be a speaker/panelist at the Non-Traditional Careers Panel, representing the field of grants and research management and will be answering questions regarding grants management field in India, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Listen to her pre-recorded talk about her career journey, current job and resources available for aspiring grants manager in India here - https://player.vimeo.com/video/600015648?h=e566920ff3 Read More...

Dr. Anasuya Roy is the founder and chief executive officer of Nanosafe Solutions, a technological startup in collaboration with IIT Delhi and an academic spin-off from her doctoral research work at IIT Delhi. Currently she is focusing on developing antimicrobial functionalized polymer nanocomposite materials as a base material for making containers and bottles. Dr. Anasuya Roy has completed her PhD Degree from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 2019. She is also a recipient of Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG), sponsored by BIRAC, DBT in 2019. She was a DAAD fellow for the IIT-DAAD Master Scholarship program. She has contributed 11 published papers in peer reviewed journals and 3 book chapters. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Roy will be a speaker/panelist at the Entrepreneurship Panel, where she will present a live talk on how she started her pitched her idea, got funding and started her company. She will also be a part of the panel discussion where we will discuss about the entrepreneurship landscape in India. Read More...

Dr. Rituparna Sinha Roy is an Associate Professor in the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), at Kolkata, India. Her group focuses on an integrated research of protein engineering and nanotechnology to address biomedical problems in the areas of drug and gene delivery, vaccine development, wound healing and regenerative medicine. She joined the Department of Biological Sciences, at IISER Kolkata after completing her Ph.D at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and postdoctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sinha Roy is recipient of several prestigious fellowships and awards, such as SERB-POWER fellowship from DST-SERB (2021), OPPI Woman Scientist Award (2020), Ramalingaswami Award (2011) and ASPET Postdoctoral Scientist Award (2009). She is also an Executive Council Member of Indian Chemical Biology and is an Editorial Advisory Board Member ACS Applied Bio Materials. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Sinha Roy will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where she will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Biochemistry' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Listen to her interview on how she has established her different research ideas and proposals in her independent lab, received funding and how she has benefitted from the uniqueness and strength of Indian STEM economy here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/610072668?h=76b7c7c58b Read More...

Dr. Adam Ruben is a writer, comedian, storyteller, and molecular biologist. He is the author of books like 'Surviving your stupid, stupid decision to go to Grad School' and has done numerous shows at clubs, colleges and private venues all across the world. He has appeared on shows on the Food Network, the Travel Channel, the Weather Channel, Discovery International, PBS, NPR, Netflix, and hosts shows like “Outrageous Acts of Science” and “What on Earth?” on the Science Channel. He also teaches an undergraduate class in science comedy at John Hopkins University. He is currently working as a scientific reviewer at FDA, and while he is not working, he travels to different places to talk about science careers, anti-bullying programs and public perceptions on science. In Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Ruben is going to give a plenary talk on 'How to communicate your science'. Anyone interested in a scientific career (academic or non-academic) and would like to hone their verbal and written communication skills should attend the talk. Read More...

Dr. Susanta Samajdar is the Senior Vice President & Head– Discovery at Aurigene Discovery Technologies. Dr. Samajdar handles the drug discovery department focusing on oncology and inflammation projects. They also work on Oral IO agents and target degradation. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry from Indian Association for the cultivation of science (IACS). After finishing PhD and prior to joining Aurigene, Dr. Samajdar was also a part of Syngene International as Scientific Manager and Jubilant Biosys. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Samajdar will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of R&D in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry and will be answering questions regarding R&D in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Watch the pre-recorded presentation of Dr. Samajdar to learn more about his career journey, his current position, and resources available for early-career researchers for smooth transition to Indian industry here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600645158?h=02edce09e6 Read More...

Dr. Sambandamurthy joined DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance as its new CEO on 1 October 2020. He has taken the helm at India Alliance with over 20 years of experience in vaccine and drug discovery spanning leadership positions at global corporations like Novartis, AstraZeneca, Syngene, and Biocon Limited. He has driven diverse classes of molecules to clinical development while managing large R&D portfolios and global alliances. Dr. Sambandamurthy was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) fellow at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and did his doctoral studies at the Tuberculosis Research Centre (Indian Council of Medical Research) in Chennai. Soon after his postdoc, he transitioned from academia to industry. A highly productive stint in the pharmaceutical industry provided an excellent platform to convert innovative ideas into affordable, life-saving products for a variety of diseases in collaboration with academia and industrial partners. Having spent over 15 years in building industry-academia collaboration across a range of therapeutic areas, Dr. Sambandmurthy brings an unmatched platter of rich experiences to build further on this industry-academia partnership in India Alliance like never before . At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Sambandamurthy will be a speaker/panelist at the Opportunity Landscape Panel, where we will be discussing about latest funding, research and entrepreneurial opportunities from Indian R&D funding organizations and companies with top policy-makers. Listen to Dr. Sambandamurthy's pre-recorded talk where he describes the programs being run by India Alliance here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/599315374?h=843a2af9ec Read More...

Prof Yogendra Sharma is the Dean of Faculty Affairs at IISER Behrampur and a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Before moving to IISER Berhampur, Professor Sharma was the Chief Scientist at the CSIR-CCMB, Hyderabad, and currently a J C Bose National Fellow. He is also the Fellow of all the three national academies (Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences and Indian Academy of Sciences). He obtained his PhD from Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata and post-doc from Washington University School of Medicine, USA. His research interests includes understanding the structure, function and evolution of calcium-binding proteins. Prof Yogendra Sharma will be a panel member at the Upcoming Academic Institutes Panel, representing IISER Behrampur and will be answering questions regarding career opportunities, teaching and research philosophies at IISER Behrampur. For more information about his research and his lab, visit https://bio.iiserbpr.ac.in/yogendra-about.php Read More...

Dr. L.S. Shashidhara is a Distinguished Professor and the Dean of Research at Ashoka University. He specializes in Genetics, Molecular Biology and Evolutionary biology. Dr. Shashidhara did his undergraduate and post-graduate studies at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India and holds Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, UK. He started his independent research career at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad as a Scientist and Group Leader. Following that, he moved to IISER Pune and contributed to its growth since its inception. For his contribution to basic and applied biology, Dr. Shashidhara is recognized with CSIR Technology and SS Bhatnagar Prizes and JC Bose National Research Fellowship. He is a Fellow of Indian National Science Academy; National Academy of Sciences, India; and Indian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Shashidhara has served/is serving as Chair/co-chair/member of various apex committees of Government of India and S&T organisations, particularly those dealing with education, basic/applied/translational research funding, innovation, policy, international relations and outreach. For more information about his research and the lab, visit Read More...

Dr. Divya Singh is currently a business development and IP officer at Center for cellular and molecular biology, Hyderabad. One of her roles is to work with the scientists at CCMB, understand their work and analyze how their science can be commercialized in the current Indian market. She is also the founding partner of Hyderabad based AvidInvent, a new IP services company that offers a full spectrum of IP solutions from the stage of conception of ideas to the commercialization stage. Dr. Singh did her PhD in Zoology from Delhi University in 2009. Since then she has transitioned from academia into patent analysis by doing a post graduate diploma in international business. One of her first jobs was being a patent analyst at Dupont. Dr. Gupta is a speaker/panel member at our non-traditional Career Panel representing Patent law and business development and will be talking about her career in business development and as an IP officer, answering questions about her transition journey and job opportunities in this field. Listen to her pre-recorded talk to understand more about IP, scientific patent laws, opportunities in India and her career journey and current position here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600020817?h=9fc2d5167e Read More...

Dr. Ravindra Vikram Singh is currently Head of India R&D, Technology and Innovation at Merck Group. He is closely involved in building-up and implementing new R&D, Innovation and Technology capabilities, and enhancement of manufacturing capacity at BLR Site, Merck, India. Dr. Singh earned his PhD from University of Lucknow in Synthetic Organic and Medicinal Chemistry and then transitioned to industrial R&D working as research scientist at Lupin followed by leadership positions at GE Research and Jubilant Life Sciences Limited. Later, Dr. Singh handled India lab operations managing R&D, custom synthesis and manufacturing at Sigma-Aldrich. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Singh will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of R&D in Chemical Industry and will be answering questions regarding R&D in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Read More...

Dr. Sudeshna Sinha is a professor in the Department of Physics, and also serves as the Deputy Director at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali, India. She primarily works in the area of nonlinear physics. Dr. Sinha is one of the inventors of a revolutionary computing technique (Chaos computing) developed commercially by the US-based company, Chaologix. She is a recipient of the Birla Award for Physics and was also conferred the J.C. Bose National Fellowship. She is also an elected Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences, the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi. Dr. Sinha will be a panel member at the Established Academic Institutes Panel, representing IISER-Mohali and will be answering questions regarding job opportunities, funding and other resources in IISER-Mohali. Listen to her pre-recorded talk about IISER-Mohali resources and recruitment process here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600033846?h=f146337a48 Read More...

Dr. Sujatha Srinivasan graduated with her B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT-Madras in 1992, her MSME from the University of Toledo, USA in 1994, and after a long stint in the prosthetics industry, obtained her PhD from the Ohio State University in 2007. She joined the faculty at IIT-Madras in 2008. Dr. Srinivasan founded the Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) lab (now the TTK Center for R2D2) at IIT Madras with the aim of developing affordable and functional assistive devices. Her research interests are in biomechanics and mechanisms with application to assistive devices. A startup she co-founded - NeoMotion - is commercializing a new wheelchair with a motorized add-on for outdoor use. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Srinivasan will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where she will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Mechanical Engg' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Read More...

Dr. V.C. Srivastava is the head of the department of chemical engineering at IIT-Roorkee. His areas of research encompass energy and fuels, catalysis and separation, pollution abatement and wastewater treatment and much more within the domain of chemical and environmental engineering. Dr. Srivastava received his PhD degree from IIT-Roorkee in 2006 in chemical engineering Soon after that, he joined Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU now) as an Assistant Professor and then transitioned to his alma mater in 2007 where is currently the professor and department head. He has more than 200 papers, 10 book chapters and 5 patents. Dr. Srivastava has recently been awarded the Hindustan Lever Award for the Most Outstanding Chemical Engineer of the year. He has previously received the NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Award, INAE Young Associate Award, INAE Young Engineer Award and many more. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Srivastava will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where he will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Chemical Engineering' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Listen to his interview on how he has established his different research ideas and proposals in his independent lab, received funding and how he has benefitted from the uniqueness and strength of Indian STEM economy here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/601852957?h=5b85d3fc5f Read More...

Dr. Debarati Mazumder leads the in vitro pharmacology and Translational Research groups at Biocon Bristol Myers Squibb R&D Center (BBRC), Syngene Intl. Ltd. Dr. Mazumder is involved in assay development, screening and mechanistic studies across multiple therapeutic areas for drug discovery programs. Dr. Mazumder also has experience working with induced pluripotent stem cells and in label-free proteomics. She earned her PhD in bio-organic chemistry from Yale University followed by postdoctoral research at Harvard University. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Mazumdar will be a speaker/panelist at the Industry in India Panel, representing the field of R&D in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry and will be answering questions regarding R&D in Indian industry, what the job entails, career transition and current job opportunities. Learn more about her career journey so far, her current job and transition from academia in her pre-recorded talk here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/616498224?h=11f704a85f Read More...

Dr Vaidya is a neuroscientist at the Tata Institute of fundamental research in Mumbai. Her lab is interested in understanding the neurocircuitry of emotion, particularly on how life experiences modulate the neural circuitry and the alterations in emotional neurocircuitry that underlie complex psychiatric disorders like depression. Dr. Vaidya received her undergraduate degree from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai in Life-Science and Biochemistry. She obtained her doctoral degree in Neuroscience at Yale University in the lab of Dr. Ronald Duman. Her postdoctoral work was done at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden with Dr. Ernest Arenas and at the University of Oxford in the UK with Dr. David Grahame-Smith. She joined the Department of Biological Sciences, TIFR, in March, 2000. She has been a Wellcome Trust Overseas Senior Research Fellow (2003 - 2009). She received the National Bioscientist Award in 2012 and the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Medical Sciences in 2015. In 2019, she won the Nature Award for Mentoring in Science as a mid-career mentor. Dr Vaidya is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS). She also serves as a Senior Editor for the European Journal of Neuroscience (EJN). In 2021, she was awarded the JC Bose National Fellowship by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB). At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Vaidya will be a speaker/panelist at the 'STEM in India: Local Problems, Global Solutions' Panel, where she will be providing expert feedback on 3-minute talks in the broad area of 'Disease Biology' and take questions regarding research proposals and their relevance in Indian STEM ecosystem in the same field. Listen to her interview with Dr. Atul Gopal (Sci-ROI Volunteer) on how she has established her different research ideas and proposals in her independent lab, received funding and how she has benefitted from the uniqueness and strength of Indian STEM economy here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/600621563?h=88409fec51 Read More...

Dr. Koshy Varghese is a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Dean of administration at IIT Madras. His research interests are primarily in the area of modelling and automating engineering processes using appropriate computational methods and tools. He has primarily focused on processes in three domains- construction design, construction planning, and urban sustainability assessment. He obtained his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a visiting eminent scholar at Arizona State University. He had obtained his MS in Structural Engineering from the same university. He has received numerous academic honors, like, Distinguished Scholar Awards, numerous best paper awards, editor of reputed journals, core membership in various curricula, presidentship in international organizations, and Certificates of appreciation. He has been involved in developing a unique post-graduate program in partnership with the largest construction company in India, Larsen & Toubro. This program has been operational for 16 years and is widely recognized as a model for university-industry interaction. He has mentored three start-up initiatives in the Institute’s research park. Dr. Vargeshe will be a panel member at the Established Academic Institutes Panel, representing IIT-Madras and will be answering questions regarding job opportunities, funding, teaching and research resources at IIT-Madras Listen to Dr. Varghese talking about the different resources in IIT-Madras and their recruitment process in this pre-recorded presentation- https://player.vimeo.com/video/610791710?h=95a4092075 Read More...

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Varshney is the Head of International Bilateral Cooperation Division (IBCD), Department of Science & Technology (DST). Dr. Varshney being the Head of IBCD has taken over the role of IGSTC Indian Co-Chair. Dr. Varshney has worked as Scientific Officer with Government of India in the Department of Science & Technology since 1990. He has worked as Counsellor (S&T) with the Embassy of India in Moscow to facilitate bilateral scientific cooperation between India and Russia during April 2008 – June 2011. He has developed policy documentation to promote international scientific cooperation as well as scientific – industrial cooperation. He is also Involved in financial planning of the group, including preparation of documents and creation of mechanisms for support. At Sci-ROI 2021, Dr. Varshney will be a speaker/panelist at the Opportunity Landscape Panel, where we will be discussing about latest funding, research and entrepreneurial opportunities from Indian R&D funding organizations and companies with top policy-makers. Listen to Dr. Varshney's pre-recorded talk where he describes the programs being run by DST for Indian diaspora here- https://player.vimeo.com/video/604754691?h=f3a772ac47 Read More...