AsianScientist (Dec. 8, 2018) – Five Indian scientists have been conferred the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI)-Scopus Young Scientist Award.
Now into its 12th year, the Award recognizes early-career researchers in India whose work has bolstered key flagship national programs, such as the “Make in India”, “Digital India”, “Healthy India” and “Clean India” initiatives. This year’s award program attracted more than 750 submissions from premier research institutions across India, and applications were judged by a panel of 19 subject experts from India’s academic community.
Dr. Jitender Giri of the National Institute of Plant Genome Research in New Delhi received the award in the ‘Agriculture, Plant Sciences and Rural Development’ category for deciphering the mechanisms of nutrient uptake and stress tolerance in plants.
In the ‘Biomedical Research and Healthcare’ category, Dr. Maddika Subba Reddy of the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in Hyderabad was acknowledged for his research on the role of protein modification in diseases such as cancer.
On the sustainability research front, Dr. Vimal Chandra Srivastava of Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee was commended for his work on novel materials for the removal of toxic substances from nature.
Meanwhile, the ‘Innovation in Engineering and Physical Sciences’ prize went to Dr. Ajay S. Karakoti of Ahmedabad University for studying novel nanomaterials, which could be useful in disease diagnosis and treatment.
Last but not least, Dr. Zhumur Ghosh of the Bose Institute received the ‘Women in Science’ award for her bioinformatics research on regulatory RNAs.
“At a time when the world has become a global village and boundaries of different disciplines are blurring, the role of science and technology becomes far more important than ever before. I compliment the National Academy of Sciences India and Elsevier for instituting these Awards to promote scientific excellence among the youngsters,” said India’s vice president Mr Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu.
The Award winners each received a citation and a plaque, along with a cash prize of INR 75,000 (~US$1,100).
———
Source: Elsevier; Photo: Shutterstock.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.