Principal scientific adviser Prof K VijayRaghavan underlined the importance of restructuring science research institutes in the country and greater collaborations among scientists interacting across disciplines as well as the industry, on Tuesday.
Addressing a virtual meeting on the occasion of CSIR-CCMB’s Founder’s day on the occasion of birth anniversary of their Founder-Director Dr P M Bhargava, he said it was necessary to nurture young scientists to address questions of their interests while forging collaborations. “This is imperative for addressing the questions of future,” he said.
“Dr Bhargava set the foundation for setting up a world class research institute in life sciences in India. The institute’s vision was and has been to address fundamental questions of biology, and address societal challenges through it. Now after more than 40 years and training more than 400 PhD students, we see our students playing an important role in multiple areas of life sciences,” said Director Dr Vinay K Nandicoori.
The celebrations are organised by the present CCMB students to bring alumni back on campus and learn from their experiences. Alumni speakers this year were Dr Rana Anjum, Director-Oncology Clinical Science, GSK in Boston, USA, and Dr Suresh Chintalapati, Co-founder, Triangulum Biopharma, California, USA and Mabgenex, Hyderabad, India.
Both spoke of their career journeys on transitioning from academia to life science industry. Dr Anjum also highlighted the challenges she had to overcome as a woman scientist in the family who wanted to work beyond her city and country. Dr Chintalapati spoke of his navigation through academia while dealing with dyslexia.
“The opportunities after completing a PhD are limitless, ranging from various positions in academia to industry and even science communication. CCMB has built a rich heritage, with its students penetrating all areas of science. Inviting these CCMB alumni provides an avenue for us to connect with them and get a perspective on the opportunities that lie ahead,” said the student organisers.
The day ended with a Carnatic vocal performance by Modumudi Sudhakar accompanied by Dinakar on violin and Jayabhaaskar on mridangam., according to a press release.
