OUR SPEAKERS

Our speakers come from all corners of the country (and even the globe) to share their knowledge in this noteworthy conference. Have a look at their bios below to learn more about their backgrounds and the insights you’ll hear from them at our conference. If you’d like to learn more, simply get in touch.

Eminent guest lecture

Dr. Nilesh Desai

Director, Space Applications Centre (SAC/ISRO),
Ahmedabad, INDIA.

Shri Nilesh Desai is a highly accomplished Engineer who has successfully led the design and development of ISRO's airborne and spaceborne Microwave Radars (RISAT, Oceansat, NISAR, Chandrayaan). He has been the recipient of multiple accolades like the ISRO Performance Excellence Award 2018 and ISRO Individual Merit Award 2010, and recently, he was awarded the IESA Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Award for outstanding contribution to the Indian space programme, 2023 and Lifetime Achievement Award for Accelerating the Indian Design Verification Ecosystem by DVCon-India, 2023.

Dr. P Balaram

Keynote Speakers

Former Director, IISc Bangalore, Currently Chaired Professor at NCBS, Bangalore

Prof Balaram is a recipient of the highest civilian award in India, Padma Bhushan (2014) and Padma Shri (2002). He has also been bestowed with the R. Bruce Merrifield Award, 2021 and The Jagadish Chandra Bose Medal, 2004 to name a few. He has made outstanding contributions towards understanding peptide folding, the structure and function of voltage-gated transmembrane peptide channels, and the biological membrane. He has also deciphered the structural chemistry of -aminoisobutyric acid peptides and pioneered its use for induction of folds in synthetic peptides.

Dr. Deepa Subramanyam

Scientist E - National Centre for Cell Science, Pune

Her lab focuses on understanding the role of cellular processes that are involved in the movement of molecules and organelles within a cell. They are involved in investigating these processes in the context of early development and disease. They have also been investigating the role of cell-cell adhesion molecules, such as E-cadherin, and the role of clathrin-mediated endocytosis in the maintenance of pluripotency of embryonic stem cells. She was bestowed with the ‘NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Award’ in 2022.

Dr. Shubha Tole

Professor at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

Her lab group explores a range of open questions in the field of forebrain development. These include the mechanisms that regulate the early patterning of the cortical primordium; neuronal subtype specification in the neocortex; cell fate determination in the hippocampus; and the control of axon pathfinding and innervation of the cortex. They use mouse as a model system and human embryonic stem cell (hESC) organoids to address questions in these areas.

Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi

Deputy Director, Center for Cancer Epidemiology at Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai

Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi is Head Neck Cancer Surgeon and Principal investigator of several pivotal randomized clinical trials. His main area of interest is the prevention and early detection of oral cancer. He has received several awards like Excellence in Cancer Care Award, 2017; Nana Palkar Smruti Award for Excellence in Patient Care, 2017; Health Award for Excellence in Oncology, 2016; and many others. Dr Chaturvedi occupies important positions in several prestigious organizations - Secretary General, International Federation of Head Neck Oncologists; Global Coordinator, World Head Neck Cancer Day; Councilor, the International Academy of Oral Oncology and Chairman, Oral Cancer Foundation.

Dr. Roop Mallik

Professor, IITB

His lab work focuses on Motor proteins, Lipids and their affairs inside cells. They record and analyse the motion of motor proteins and measure the forces needed to drive motion using optical tweezers, trying to identify the molecules behind this using protein biochemistry and also interfering with the motion using genetic/biochemical techniques. His lab uses the microtubule-motor dependent motion of endosomes, phagosomes and lipid droplets as model systems and interrogates these systems at multiple levels of complexity.

Dr. Anita Borges

Head of Histopathology, SL Raheja Hospital, Mumbai

Dr. Anita currently serves as the Lab Director of the Centre for Oncopathology, Mumbai and the Head of Histopathology, SL Raheja Hospital, Mumbai. She also chairs the clinical laboratory accreditation committee of the National Accreditation Board for Testing Laboratories and acts as dean of the Indian College of Pathologists. Educated in London, New York and India, she has spent over 40 years as a cancer pathologist with special interest in Head & Neck pathology, lymphoid neoplasms, and the mechanisms of metastasis.

Dr. Arnab Mukhopadhyay

Staff Scientist at National Institute of Immunology

The primary focus of his lab is to understand the molecular mechanisms that determine the longevity of an organism. The main interests of the lab include - diet-gene interactions that regulate longevity, regulation of the Insulin-IGF-1 signalling pathway, regulation of oogenesis and reproductive aging by nutrient-sensing pathways, the biology of dietary restriction, understanding the molecular link between ageing and innate immune pathways and screening for novel compounds that extend longevity. He is the recipient of multiple awards and accolades, namely JC Bose Fellowship, 2023, Elected Fellow, Indian National Science Academy (INSA), 2021, SERB-Science Technology Award for Research (STAR) award, 2019 and many more.

Dr. Saikat Chowdhury, PhD

Senior Scientist at CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB), Assistant Professor at AcSIR & Adjunct Assistant Professor at SUNY Stony Brook University

His lab works is interested in understanding the civil and mechanical engineering marvels within cells. Just like rebar and cables, which support buildings and bridges, support structures of cells are made up of filamentous cytoskeletal elements like actin, microtubule and intermediate filaments. These dictate cellular morphology, generate forces for cell migration, and form intracellular tracks for movement of molecular motor proteins. These networks are highly regulated and are dynamic in nature. The core focus of the lab is towards understanding how different cytoskeletal elements work in unison inside the cell, investigate the molecular basis of regulation of these networks, and how these participate in important cellular functions. They use cutting edge cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), novel image processing methodologies along with biochemical and biophysical techniques to decode these cellular engineering feats.

Young Scientist Speakers

Dr. Indrajit Sahu

Assistant professor, SRM Institute of Science and Technology

He is a Recipient of the Marie-Curie Individual Fellow H2020 Fellowship and an alumnus of ACTREC from Dr. Prasanna Lab; he did his post-doctorate from Glickman lab in Technion, Israel, followed by a second post-doctorate at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard, Boston. His work focuses on the ubiquitin proteasomal system and proteins associated with the folding and degradation of proteins.

Dr. Divya Rathod

Founder at Silvery Nanos Innovations LLP and Divya Innovation.

She established the Silvery Nanos Innovations LLP which focusses on making innovative products concerning female hygiene. It has come up with Hapito, a nano-alloy spray, which offers bacteriostatic action with antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antibiofilm properties. She has won many awards from IIT, BIRAC- TiE, BSE, Chancellor’s Challenge, NITI Aayog, Singapore, UK government UKDCMS, etc.

International Guest Scientist Speakers

a. Dr. Santosh Kumar Gothwal, Institute for Frontier Science Initiative Kanazawa University
Title of talk: Regulation of Germinal Center derived B-lymphomas during Humoral Immunity
b. Dr. Md Fahim Newaz, Nanoscale Measurement Engineering Nano Lifescience Institute Kanazawa University
Title of the talk: A Machine Learning Approach to Classify Force Curves of Nuclear Elasticity Measurement
c. Takahiro Tomoda, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University
Title of the talk: Ex vivo imaging of gadolinium contrast agents using SiPM-based photon-counting CT for diagnosis of liver disease.

GET IN TOUCH

Organizing Committee, NRSM 2022
Khanolkar Shodhika,

ACTREC-TMC, Sector 22, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, MH, IN - 410210

e-mail: nrsm[at]actrec[dot]gov[dot]in

Telephone: (022) 2740 5000/ 6873 5000 Extension: 5331