Veena Tandon is an Indian parasitologist, academic and a

NASI Nasi may refer to: Food Dishes Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian and Malay word for ''cooked rice'', featured in many Southeast Asian dishes *Nasi goreng, a popular rice dish often simply called ''nasi'' *Other Southeast Asian ''nasi'' dishes: **Nasi ...

senior scientist at Biotech Park, Lucknow. She is a former professor of zoology at the

North Eastern Hill University North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is a Central University established on 19 July 1973 by an Act of the Indian Parliament. The university is in the suburb of Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, India. The university has two campuses: S ...

and serves as the chief instigator for the North-East India Helminth Parasite Information Database. She is known for her researches on worm infections afflicting the animals of food value and is the author of two books and several articles on

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...

. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, in 2016, for her contributions to science.

Biography

Veena Tandon was born on 7 September 1949 in Kashipur in the Indian state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. After graduating in zoology (BSc-hons) from

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

in 1967, she completed her master's degree (MSc) in 1968 before securing a doctoral degree (PhD) from the same institution in 1973. She also did post doctoral research at the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

during 1978–79; her research topic being the adverse effect of alcohol on brain and liver tissues. She started her career as an assistant professor at

Himachal Pradesh University Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) is an Indian public state university at Summer Hill in the state capital city Shimla. It is close to the vicinity of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. It is wholly financed by the government of Himachal ...

but moved to the Department of Zoology of the

, Shillong, as an assistant professor where she served till her superannuation as a professor. After retirement, she joined Biotech Park, Lucknow to continue her helminthological researches on a platinum jubilee fellowship of the

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu * Sudha Bhattacharya * Ch ...

and is the NASI senior scientist of the institution. Tandon is known to have done pioneering research on parasites affecting livestock and her researches have been reported to have helped in the better understanding of parasite biodiversity of the northeast region of India. She is the principal investigator of the DIT - North-East Parasite Information Analysis Centre which is involved in the preparation of a ''North-East India Helminth Parasite Information Database'' (NEIHPID). Her researches have been documented by way of over 340 articles, many of them published in international peer reviewed journals. Besides, she has authored two books, ''Pictorial Guide to Trematodes of Livestock and Poultry in India'' and ''Bamboo Flowering and Rodent Control''. She is also a co-author of the ''Northeast India Helminth Parasite Information Database (NEIHPID): Knowledge Base for Helminth Parasites'', a database on the parasite biodiversity of the region, and has served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Government of India as well as the Task Force on Biotechnology of the Department of Science and Technology. Veena Tandon is married to

Pramod Tandon Pramod Tandon is an India Plant Biotechnologist and academic. He is a former Professor of Botany & Vice-Chancellor of North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong and Chief Executive Officer of Biotech Park, Lucknow. The Government of Indi ...

, an educationist and a former vice chancellor of the

. The couple has a son, Prateek Tandon, who is a computer engineer and an author.

Awards and honors

The

elected Tandon as a fellow in 1998 and she became an elected fellow of the

Indian Society for Parasitology Indian Society for Parasitology is a non profit making registered society formed under the aegis of the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, working as a platform for the Parasitology, parasitologists in India for dissemination of knowledge ...

in 2005. She is also a fellow of the Zoological Society of India and the Helminthological Society of India and held the Chair in Taxonomy - Animal Sciences of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change during 2003–06. She has delivered key note addresses in many science conferences and award orations such as Prof. R. P. Choudhuri Endowment Lecture of the

Guwahati University Gauhati University, also known as GU, is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assem ...

, Prof. M. M. Chakravarty Commemoration Oration of the Zoological Society, Kolkata and Professor Archana Sharma Memorial Lecture of the National Academy of Sciences, India. She is a recipient of the E. K. Janaki Ammal Award in Animal Taxonomy of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and she received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the

in 2011. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honor of the

in 2016.

References

External links

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Biography

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links

Further reading