Padmanabhan Balaram 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 a former director of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. He is a recipient of the third highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Bhushan (2014) as well as the

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(1994). He has been conferred the 2021 R. Bruce Merrifield Award by the American Peptide Society.

Education

Balaram received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Fergusson College, University of Pune followed by a master's degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and his

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degree from

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with Aksel A. Bothner-By. After a postdoctoral stint at Harvard University with Nobel laureate Robert Burns Woodward, he returned to the Indian Institute of Science, where he has been ever since as a faculty member in the Molecular Biophysics Unit. He presently holds a Chaired Professorship at the

National Center for Biological Sciences National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, Karnataka, is a research centre specialising in biological research. It is a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the Department of Atomic Energy of the ...

, Bangalore. During his PhD, Balaram studied the use of negative Nuclear Overhauser effect signals as probes of macromolecular conformations. As a postdoc with Woodword, Balaram worked on the synthesis of the antibiotic

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.Prof. P. Balaram lab Webpage at IISc
Retrieved 16 July 2012

Research

Balaram's main area of research has been the investigation of the structure, conformation, and biological activity of designed and natural peptides. To do this, he has extensively used techniques such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy, Infrared spectroscopy, and Circular Dichroism, along with X-ray crystallography. He has been a major contributor to the evaluation of factors influencing the folding and conformations of designed peptides, and has investigated structural elements playing a key role in the formation of secondary structural motifs such as helices, beta turns, and sheets. Along with Isabella Karle, a frequent collaborator, he has also pioneered the use of alpha-amino isobutyric acid to induce and retain helicity and constrain peptide conformations. Balaram has authored more than 400 research papers, and is a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy.National Knowledge Commission member P. Balaram
Retrieved 16 July 2012 He was the editor of the journal '' Current Science'' until June 2013.

References

External links

Prof. Padmanabhan Balaram takes charge as new director of IIScIIT Kanpur Alumni Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balaram, Padmanabhan Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Living people Harvard University people Carnegie Mellon University alumni IIT Kanpur alumni Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni Directors of the Indian Institute of Science Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Scientists from Bangalore Indian biochemists Indian Institute of Science faculty 20th-century Indian chemists 21st-century Indian chemists TWAS laureates Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2008