Siddhesh Joshi (Editor)

Govindarajan Padmanaban

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Nationality  Indian
Fields  Biochemistry
Residence  India

Name  Govindarajan Padmanaban
Doctoral advisor  P. S. Sarma
Notable students  M. R. S. Rao
Govindarajan Padmanaban wwwnaturecomnmjournalv9n8imagesnm0803985

Born  20 March 1938 (age 85) Madras, India (1938-03-20)
Institutions  Indian Institute of Science St Mary's Hospital Medical School University of Chicago
Alma mater  Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru Indian Agricultural Research Institute,New Delhi Presidency College, Chennai
Notable awards  Padma Bhushan (2003) Padma Shri (1991) Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (1983)
Education  Indian Institute of Science, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Presidency College, Chennai

Govindarajan Padmanaban (born 20 March 1938, in Madras) is an Indian biochemist and biotechnologist. He was the former director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and presently serves as honorary professor in the department of biochemistry at IISc.

Contents

Early life and education

Padmanaban was brought up in a family of engineers. His belongs to Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu but had settled in Bangalore. After completing his schooling in Bangalore, he joined an Engineering College. However, he found engineering uninteresting, and he joined the Presidency College in Madras to complete a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He completed his masters in Soil Chemistry at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Indian Institute of science IISc, Bangalore in 1966.

Research

In the early years of his research, he primarily worked in the transcriptional regulation of Eukaryotic genes in the liver. He was interested in elucidating the multifaceted role of heme in cellular processes. His group discovered the heme-biosynthetic pathway in the malarial parasite and showed it to be a drug target. He has also been interested in the area of vaccine development. His team was successful in showing the antimalarial property of Curcumin and its efficacy in combination therapy in 2004.

Awards

  • Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (1983)
  • Padma Shri (1991)
  • Padma Bhushan (2003)
  • Elected Fellowship of the National Academy of Medical Sciences
  • References

    Govindarajan Padmanaban Wikipedia