The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT)‘s 10th director D. Srinivasa Reddy’s career reads like a fairy tale.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award winner hails from Shobhanadripuram village in Nalgonda district, studied in a Telugu medium school till his graduation, did his post-graduation from Osmania University and Ph.D. from University of Hyderabad (UoH) under the tutelage of eminent academic-scientist Prof. Goverdhan Mehta.
He is currently holding the additional charge of CSIR-Institute of Integrative Medicine (Jammu) and CSIR-Drug Research Institute (Lucknow). In this interview, Dr. Reddy talks about his life and plans for the premier chemical research institute.
a) You have been a project assistant here and have returned as the director!
A: My father was a farmer and I never thought of becoming a scientist. I came to Hyderabad for my Intermediate in Mahabub College and B.Sc (BZC) in S.P. College when I used to distribute newspapers, give home tuitions and worked in a timber depot loading logs to earn money. With a lot of difficulty I joined as a project associate in IICT. Later, I cleared my CSIR-NET exam and joined Prof. Mehta. From then on, it has been growing upwards though hard work and perseverance.
b) How did your switch from private sector to research in public labs happen?
A: After my post-doctoral studies in United States and seriously considering settling there, I was offered a job with Dr. Reddy’s Labs. Later, I moved to Advinus Therapeutics (Pune) after which I joined CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (Pune) as I wanted to pursue my passion for organic chemistry research, taking a huge pay cut. My wife, Vidya Ramdas, has been my co-researcher from UoH days and she continues to work in the pharma field. We have done some great work at NCL and I continue to have my lab with six research students. Soon, I will have a lab here and take in student researchers.
c) What are the areas of research you have been working on?
A: We developed the ‘Silicon-switch’ approach for developing drug strategies for diseases affecting the central nervous system as most patents do not claim silicon derivatives. This has huge potential in discovering drugs in a short time. Our group has identified a few novel compounds that can protect from vector spreading diseases like dengue or zika virus and also kill the mosquitoes. We have filed a patent and talks are on with a private firm to develop this further for daily use. We have collaborated with different labs including CSIR-CCMB to authenticate the anti-cancer drug for use in Sickle Cell Anaemia.
d) What will be the areas of focus here in IICT?
A: We will be actively involved in the ‘Anti-Virus Mission’ in association with other CSIR labs studying available molecules and re-purposing of existing anti-viral drugs to deal with SARS-COVID, Monkey Pox and several other viruses. We will soon have a BSL-3 facility here. We are actively assisting pharma and vaccine companies in their research. Our aim is to make the country self-reliant in APIs – active pharmaceutical ingredients, KSMs- key starting materials and others with public, private partnerships. I am still trying to understand the various projects here.
