Govindarajan Padmanaban (born 20 March 1938, in
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
) is an Indian
biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...
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 and
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of
Central University of Tamil Nadu
Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN) is a central university located in Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu.
History
CUTN was established by the Government of India in 2009 under the ''Central Universities Act, 2009''. It was inaugurated in Septembe ...
.
Early life and education
Padmanaban was brought up in a family of engineers. He 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
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
to complete a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He completed his master's degree 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
National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a nodal agency under the Government of India, which acts as an advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a ...
References
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Padmanaban, Govindarajan
Living people
1938 births
Indian biochemists
Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering
Indian Institute of Science alumni
Directors of the Indian Institute of Science
Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Biological Science
Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy
Fellows of The National Academy of Sciences, India
Indian biotechnologists
Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences
Academic staff of the Indian Institute of Science
20th-century Indian biologists
20th-century Indian chemists
Scientists from Chennai
Presidency College, Chennai alumni