Dr Ramesh Venkata Sonti is the new Director of ICGEB
Renowned plant scientist , Prof . Ramesh Venkata Sonti has joined the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology ( ICGEB ) as the new Director on January 01 , 2023 . He succeeds Dr Dinakar M . Salunke who was at the helm for over six years . Well known for his deep research in agriculture biotechnology , Dr Sonti ’ s research has focused on understanding plant-pathogen interactions using , as a model , rice and the bacterial pathogen , Xanthomonas oryzae pv . oryzae ( Xoo ). His work has led to the identification of novel Xoo virulence functions . Dr Sonti has led a team of scientists of CCMB and the Directorate of Rice Research , Hyderabad that together developed a rice
variety called ‘ Improved Samba Mahsuri ’ which has been released for commercial cultivation .
Dr Ramesh Sonti is a recipient of the SS Bhatnagar Prize in Biological Sciences and the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Biotechnology . He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences ( India ), Allahabad , Indian Academy of Sciences , Bangalore , National Academy of Agricultural Sciences , New Delhi and Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences , Hyderabad .
Dr Soumya Swaminathan takes charge of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation
Dr Soumya Swaminathan , Former Chief Scientist , World
Health Organization ( WHO ) has joined as the new chairperson of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation ( MSSRF ) from February 1 , 2023 . MSSRF was founded by her father , the iconic agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan , to accelerate the use of technology in agriculture for improving lives and livelihoods of marginalized communities . The foundation claims to have benefitted over 5,50,000 farm families and 2,50,000 fisherfolk from 4,000 villages across 14 states .
Prior to working as WHO chief scientist , she was the deputy director-general for programmes at that global health body . As the WHO ’ s inaugural chief scientist , she was instrumental in building its Science Division with a focus on research , quality assurance of norms and standards and digital health . Dr Swaminathan was secretary to the Government of India for Health Research and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research from 2015 to 2017 where she focused on bringing science and evidence into health policymaking , building research capacity in Indian medical schools and forging south-south partnerships in health sciences .
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BioVoiceNews | February 2023