Manju Ray was an Indian scientist specializing in Molecular Enzymology and Cancer Biochemistry. Her research has contributed significantly to the development of anticancer drugs and understanding the differentiation process of cells. Her interests include tumor biochemistry and molecular enzymology. She was awarded 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 science, applied or Fundamenta ...

in the year 1989, being only the second woman to receive this award in the category 'Biological Sciences'.

Education

Ray graduated from the prestigious

Science college Science Colleges were introduced in 2002 as part of the now defunct Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, science and mathematics. Schools that suc ...

campus of Calcutta University with degrees in M.Sc. in Physiology in 1969 and PhD in Biochemistry in 1975.

Research

Ray started her career in the Department of Biochemistry, Indian Association of Cultivation of Science. Since December 2010, she was an Emeritus Scientist at Bose Institute, Kolkata. Ray's research has focused on understanding the biological role of

methylglyoxal Methylglyoxal (MGO) is the organic compound with the formula CH3C(O)CHO. It is a reduced derivative of pyruvic acid. It is a reactive compound that is implicated in the biology of diabetes. Methylglyoxal is produced industrially by degradation ...

, a side-product of several

metabolic pathway In biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a linked series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. The reactants, products, and intermediates of an enzymatic reaction are known as metabolites, which are modified by a sequence of chemical reac ...

s. Over the course of her career, she and her team have isolated, purified and characterized a series of enzymes involved in methylglyoxal

anabolism Anabolism () is the set of metabolic pathways that construct molecules from smaller units. These reactions require energy, known also as an endergonic process. Anabolism is the building-up aspect of metabolism, whereas catabolism is the breaking-do ...

and

catabolism Catabolism () is the set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units that are either oxidized to release energy or used in other anabolic reactions. Catabolism breaks down large molecules (such as polysaccharides, lipids, ...

. Her work has also focused on studying anticancer properties of methylglyoxal, with positive results observed in the first phase of clinical trials.

Awards

* 1975:

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Academ ...

(INSA) Young Scientist Medal in Biological Science * 1989:

in Biological Science * 2003: Dr. I.C. Chopra Memorial Award * Dr. Jnan Chandra Ghosh Memorial Award

Publications

Ray has published a large number of scientific papers as lead author in association with others and some of which are: *''Inhibition of respiration of tumor cells by methyl glyoxal and protection of inhibition by lactaldehyde'' (1991) in

International Journal of Cancer The ''International Journal of Cancer'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed medical journal covering experimental and clinical cancer research. It publishes original research articles, mini reviews, short reports, and letters to the editor. The journal was ...

*''Inhibition of electron flow through complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain on Earlich Ascites Carsinoma cells by methyl Glyoxal'' (1994) in Biochemical Journal *''Glyoxalase III from Escherichia coli a single novel enzyme for the conversion of methylglyoxal into D-lactate without reduced glutathione'' (1995) in Biochemical Journal *''Methylglyoxal : From a putative intermediate of glucose breakdown to its role in understanding that excessive ATP formation in cells may lead to malignancy'' (1998) in

Current Science ''Current Science'' is an English-language peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It was established in 1932 and is published by the Current Science Association along with the Indian Academy of Sciences. According to the ''Journal C ...

*''Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Earlich Ascites Carcinoma cells: its possible role in the high glycolysis of malignant cells'' (1999) in

European Journal of Biochemistry ''The FEBS Journal'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies. It covers research on all aspects of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, an ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Manju 21st-century Indian women scientists Indian women biochemists Bengali chemists 21st-century Indian biologists 20th-century Indian chemists 21st-century Indian chemists 20th-century Indian women scientists 1947 births 2021 deaths Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Biological Science Women scientists from West Bengal