Vijay Kumar (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian molecular biologist,

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, thei ...

and an honorary scientist at the

International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) was established as a project of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 1983. The Organisation has three Component laboratories with over 45 ongo ...

. Known for his research in

hepatology Hepatology is the branch of medicine that incorporates the study of liver, gallbladder, biliary tree, and pancreas as well as management of their disorders. Although traditionally considered a sub-specialty of gastroenterology, rapid expansion ...

, Kumar is an elected fellow of

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 ...

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 ...

, and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences as well as a J. C. Bose National Fellow of the

Department of Biotechnology The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is an Indian government department, under the Ministry of Science and Technology responsible for administrating development and commercialisation in the field of modern biology and biotechnology in India. It ...

. The

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ( IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada''), abbreviated as CSIR, was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the ...

, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, ...

, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 1997.

Biography

Vijay Kumar was born on 7 November 1954 at

Sasaram Sasaram ()sometimes also spelled as Sahasram, is an ancient historical city and a municipal corporation region in the Rohtas district of the Bihar state in eastern India, with a history that goes to thousands of years. During the prehistoric ag ...

, a place known for its

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

, in

Rohtas district Rohtas District is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. It came into existence when Shahabad District was bifurcated into Bhojpur & Rohtas in 1972. Administrative headquarter of the district is Sasaram. Rohtas district has th ...

in the Indian state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. His early college education was at Sahibganj College of

Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University Tilka Majhi Bhagalpur University, formerly Bhagalpur University, is a public university in Bhagalpur, Bihar, India. It was established on 12 July 1960, having local colleges initially associated with Patna University. Its campus is around in a ...

from where he completed his BSc (Hons) in zoology in 1972 and earned an MSc from

Magadh University Magadh University is a public state university and institution of higher education in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India. It is recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The university is governed by the Bihar State University Act 1976. It pro ...

in 1975. Subsequently, he joined the

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, also known as AIIMS Delhi, is a public medical research university and hospital in New Delhi, India. The institute is governed by the AIIMS Act, 1956 and operates autonomously under the Minis ...

as a junior research fellow and continued there for his doctoral studies as a Lady Tata Senior Research Scholar to secure a PhD in 1984 for his thesis, ''Molecular interactions of progesterone with its receptor in human uterus''. He started his career the same year by joining AIIMS faculty as a junior research officer at the department of biophysics but took a sabbatical to move to ''Institut de Chimie Biologique'', Strasbourg as an exchange scholar of

Louis Pasteur University Louis Pasteur University (''Université Louis-Pasteur''), also known as Strasbourg I or ULP was a large university in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. As of 15 January 2007, there were 18,847 students enrolled at the university, including around 3 ...

and did his post-doctoral studies till 1988. Returning to India, he joined

(ICGEB), New Delhi as a research scientist where he served out his regular career till his superannuation in 2014. During this period, he held various positions such as senior research scientist (1998–2001), staff research scientist (2002–13), staff scientist (2013–14) and headed the Virology Group from 2013 to 2014. Post-retirement, he continues his association with ICGEB as an emeritus scientist and as J. C. Bose National Fellow.

Legacy

Vijay Kumar focused his research on the assembly,

cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. In the field of biotechnology, c ...

and

expression Expression may refer to: Linguistics * Expression (linguistics), a word, phrase, or sentence * Fixed expression, a form of words with a specific meaning * Idiom, a type of fixed expression * Metaphorical expression, a particular word, phrase, o ...

of genes and on the role played by steroid hormone receptors as well as

oncogenic Carcinogenesis, also called oncogenesis or tumorigenesis, is the formation of a cancer, whereby normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. The process is characterized by changes at the cellular, genetic, and epigenetic levels and abno ...

viruses in producing cancer cells. He has done pioneering research on

Hepatitis B virus ''Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) is a partially double-stranded DNA virus, a species of the genus '' Orthohepadnavirus'' and a member of the '' Hepadnaviridae'' family of viruses. This virus causes the disease hepatitis B. Disease Despite there b ...

and his studies widened the understanding of the trans-activating domain of the

HBx HBx is a hepatitis B viral protein. It is 154 amino acids long and interferes with transcription, signal transduction, cell cycle progress, protein degradation, apoptosis and chromosomal stability in the host. It forms a heterodimeric complex ...

protein. He contributed in developing a protocol for assembling multiepitope protein gene which assisted in the studies of the

immunobiology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

of the virus. His research collaboration with

Debi Prasad Sarkar Debi Prasad Sarkar (born 15 January 1958) is an Indian biochemist, immunologist and virologist. He was the head of biochemistry department and dean FIAS, at the University of Delhi South Campus and served as the director of IISER Mohali from 20 ...

assisted him to demonstrate for the first time that

protein stimulated Mitogen-activated signaling cascades ''

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and ...

''. His research has been documented and cited in texts and articles and he has contributed chapters to books published by others. Kumar is a member of the Institutional Ethics Review Board (IERB-JNU) of the

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

and was a member of the Advisory Committee for

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given annually by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, ...

for the years, 2005, 2011 and 2014. He served as a principal investigator for a number of projects by Department of Science and Technology and

. The invited lectures or key note addresses delivered by him include the presentation on ''Epigenetic control of origin licensing during mammalian DNA replication'' at the

Indian Science Congress Indian Science Congress Association(ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. It has a ...

of 2012 among others.

Awards and honors

Kumar won a number of prizes during his academic studies which included the Kul Prize for Best Science graduate of Bhagalpur University (1972), DPI Merit Scholarship during 1973–75 and the Gold Medal of Magadh University in 1977 for standing first in MSc examination. The

awarded him

, one of the highest Indian science awards in 1997. The list of research fellowships held by him features Lady Tata Senior Research Scholarship of

Lady Tata Memorial Trust Lady Tata Memorial Trust is a philanthropic body established by Sir Dorabji Tata in April 1932 in memory of his wife, Lady Meherbai, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 1930 at the age of 50, and succumbed to the disease on 18 June 1931. The Trust ...

(1982–84), Indo-French Scientific and Cultural Exchange Fellowship (1984–85) and the J. C. Bose National Fellowship of the Department of Biotechnology in 2013. He received the Gold Medal of the Zoological Society of India in 1998. In 2002 he was elected as a fellow by the

. The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences elected him as a fellow in 2004 and he became a fellow of the

in 2013. The award orations delivered by him include the 2013 Ramniklal J. Kinarivala Oration Award of Gujarat Cancer Society.

Selected bibliography

* * * * *

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Vijay 1954 births Living people People from Sasaram Indian molecular biologists Indian virologists Indian medical writers Magadh University alumni All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi alumni Academic staff of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Medical Science Fellows of The National Academy of Sciences, India Fellows of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences Fellows of the National Academy of Medical Sciences Scientists from Bihar People from Rohtas district Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University alumni