Harsh Vardhan Batra is an Indian scientist working in animal

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

at the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), of the Indian

Ministry of Science and Technology A Science Ministry or Department of Science is a ministry or other government agency charged with science. The ministry is often headed by a Minister for Science. List of Ministries of Science Many countries have a Ministry of Science or Ministry ...

. He is a former director of the

Defence Food Research Laboratory The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) is an Indian defence laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located in Mysore, Karnataka, it conducts research and development of technologies and products in the area ...

(DFRL), a

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

(DRDO) establishment at

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

(April 2012 – Dec 2015). As a specialist in infectious diseases, he participated in the DRDO biodefence preparedness program, and was an expert member of the technical advisory committee on

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

constituted by the government of India in September 1994. He served as technical consultant for the design and construction of high containment laboratories for DRDO, the

Indian Council for Agricultural Research The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture. Th ...

(ICAR) and

Indian Council of Medical Research The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Gove ...

(ICMR). He participated in the United Nations

Biological Weapons Convention The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpil ...

(BTWC) ''ad hoc'' group meetings in Geneva as a member of the Indian delegation, and conducted World Health Organization (WHO) Southeast Asia Regional Office meetings and workshops on infectious diseases.

Education

Earned MVSc in Bacteriology and Hygiene (1979) and PhD in Veterinary Public Health and

Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...

(1985) from Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar. In 1987 he conducted post-doctoral research at the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the Tuberculosis and Related Infections Unit at

Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of ...

in London.

Career

Senior scientific officer and head of the mycobacteriology laboratory, National Institute of Immunology in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

from 1984 to Nov.1990. Scientist at DRDO in

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

from November 1990 to February 2006. Additional Director, DFRL,

from February 2006 to April 2012 and Director from April 2012 to December 2015. He conducted disease outbreak investigations as DRDO Life Sciences team leader during biological emergencies such as: *Plague outbreaks at ** Surat, Gujarat and ** Beed, Maharashtra ***August and September 1994. *

Pneumonic plague Pneumonic plague is a severe lung infection caused by the bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. Symptoms include fever, headache, shortness of breath, chest pain, and coughing. They typically start about three to seven days after exposure. It is one ...

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

(

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

), February 2002. *Suspected leptospirosis outbreaks: ** Delhi: Aug 2000 **

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

: July – August 2002 **

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

: Oct. 2002 ** Kerala: October- November 2003 ** Maharashtra: Aug 2005 *Suspected cholera outbreaks **

Bhind Bhind is a city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the Bhind district. Demographics As of 2011 Indian Census, Bhind had a total population of 197,585, of which 105,352 were males and 92,233 were females. Populati ...

(MP) in May–June 2004 **Delhi in July–August 2004 *Anthrax outbreak investigation at

Gundlupet Gundlupet also known as Land of Tigers (''Gundlupētē'' in Kannada) is a municipal town situated in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka, India. It is also known as "''The flower pot of India''". It is situated 60 km away from NH 766 and ...

(

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

), 2013. * Anthrax outbreak investigation at Hindupur (

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

), 2014. *Anthrax outbreak at Mysore in November 2001 *Anthrax scares due to suspect powder in envelopes, October 2001 – 2003.

Awards

*First position Prizes in M.V.Sc. and PhD. In 1979 & 1985, respectively *National Institute of Immunology Product Development Award in 1988 *DRDO Technology Cash Award in 1996 *Ganti Sastri Gold Medal for best publication in 1998 *DRDO Scientist of the Year Award in 2002 *First Prize in paper presentation at the Indian Convention of Food Scientists and Technologists (ICFOST), 2009 *Two Best posters in paper presentation in Eleventh Sir Tata Dorabji Symposium on Diagnostics in Infection,

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

, 2010 *First prize for the paper presentation in National Seminar on Microbial Diversity – Exploration & Bioprospecting, 2010 *Best research paper in DFRL, 2010 *First prize in paper presentation in National Seminar on Recent Trends in Microbial Techniques at Kakatiya University, 2011 *First prize in paper presentation in World Congress on Biotechnology at

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

during March 2011 *First prize in paper presented during 52nd AMI conference held at Chandigarh during Nov. 2011 *Three best awards for papers presented at International Symposium on Recent Trends in Processing and Safety of Speciality and Operational Foods at DFRL in November 2011 *Best research paper award in P.R. Verma Award competition 2012 *Best research paper award in Association of Microbiology of India award competition *Two Best Paper awards in National conference held at

Kakatiya University Kakatiya University is a public university located in Hanmakonda, Warangal in the Indian state of Telangana. It was most recently accredited with an "A" Grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of India on 12 September 2017. ...

2012 *Best poster paper award in national conference held at

Vellore Institute of Technology Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private research deemed university located in Katpadi in Vellore, India. Founded in 1984 as ''Vellore Engineering College'' by G. Viswanathan, the institution offers 66 Undergraduate, 58 Postgraduate ...

, 2012 *Best Research paper award- TSICON-2013, International Conference on Biology of Natural toxins- Goa, BITS-pilani. *Titanium Trophy Award 2012 - Received from Prine Minister Manmohan Singh, 31 July 2012, New Delhi *Defence Technology Spin-Off Award 2013 - Received from Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

, August 2014 *PROF. J. V. BHAT MEMORIAL ORATION AWARD 2015 NATIONAL FOR SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS "DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY". *PATH BREAKING RESEARCH AND OUTSTANDING TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT received from Honourable Raksha manthri Sri. Manohar Parikar on 23 Sept. 2015 in Delhi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batra, Harsh People associated with infectious diseases Indian biotechnologists 1955 births Living people Indian public health doctors Indian microbiologists Veterinary scientists Plague doctor Anthrax