Professor Anupam Varma, FNA

Vice-President, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi
Adjunct Professor, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi

Anupam Varma, born in Delhi in 1940, graduated from the University of Allahabad in 1959 and obtained M.Sc. degree in Botany from the same University in 1961. After obtaining Ph.D. degree from London University in 1967, he joined the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. Since then he has been working at the same Institute in varying capacities as Senior Virologist (1968-75), Principal Virologist (1975-84), Professor of Virology (1984-86), Professor of Plant Pathology (1986-88), Head, Division of Plant Pathology (1988-95), Dean, Post Graduate School (1995-2000), National Professor ICAR (2000-2005) and INSA Senior Scientist (2005 onwards). From 1979 to 1981 he worked with the FAO of the United Nations for developing a National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, Nigeria. He has been a Visiting Scientist at the Australian National University, Canberra, Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, UK, and INRA, Bordeaux, France.

Prof. Varma has made important contributions to fundamental and applied aspects of plant virology, which are widely quoted and acclaimed. He has established a strong school of molecular virology in the country, which has provided lead to our understanding of the complexities of the devastating diseases caused by viruses in horticultural and field crops. Prof. Varma’s researches have played a key role in developing technologies for the management of viral diseases, through conventional and biotechnological approaches.

Prof. Varma is a Fellow of Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, India, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Founder Fellow), Indian Phytopathological Society and Indian Virology Society. He was the President, Agricultural Sciences, Indian Science Congress (1988-89), Vice-President, Indian Virology Society (1990-92), Founder Secretary, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1990-98), President, Biological Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India (1993), Secretary General, International Society of Plant Pathology (1993-98), Vice-President, International Congress of Plant Pathology, Edinburgh (1998), President, Indian Phytopathological Society (1998-99),Vice-President, International Society for Plant Pathology (1998-2003), Vice-President, Indian National Science Academy (2005-2007), Chair, ICSU Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific (2006-2008), and currently he is Chair, National Committee of International Union of Microbiological Societies; Chair, Apex Committee: Technology Vision 2020 for Agriculture and Fisheries, and Vice-President, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi (2015-17). He was the Indian Editor, Journal of Phytopathology, Germany (1989-2005). He was the Chief Editor of Indian Phytopathology from 1992 – 1994; he is Chief Editor of NAAS/Springer Journal ‘Ágricultural Research’ (2012- onwards) and he has served on the editorial board of many science journals. In recognition of his contributions to science Prof. Varma has been honoured with several prestigious awards like the VASVIK and Om Prakash Bhasin Awards for Science and Technology, and Millenium Plaque of Honour Award of the Indian Science Congress Association; PNASF Gold Medal Award, 2009; INSA Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Medal, 2010; A.P. Misra Lifetime Achievement Award 2010-11.

Prof. Narinder K. Mehra

Professor Narinder Mehra is the former Dean (Research) of AIIMS, New Delhi and currently holds the prestigious position of ‘Dr C.G. Pandit National Chair’. After finishing his graduation from the Govt. Medical College, Amritsar, he joined AIIMS in 1969 to pursue his Masters in Anatomy and then PhD in 1975 on Immunology of leprosy. Thereafter, he joined AIIMS Faculty in 1979 and got passionately involved with the development of the new specialty of Transplant Immunology and Clinical Immunogenetics.

Professor Mehra is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (FNASc), Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA), Member, Honoris Causa of the prestigious Hungarian Academy of Sciences, ‘Fellow’ of The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS) and Fellow of International Medical Sciences Academy. He served as the chief Editor of the prestigious international journal ‘Frontiers in Immunology’ special issue-‘Clinical Relevance of Antibodies in Solid Organ Transplantation’.

Professor Mehra has several awards and honors to his credit. Some of the significant ones include Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, 1992; Ranbaxy Science Foundation Award, 1996; O.P. Bhasin Science Foundation Award, 2000; Chief of the Army Staff Award, 2003. In 2003, the French President, conferred on him the title of ‘Chevalier of the National Order of Merit’. He also received the highest International Award of Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology. He is the recipient of the Dr B.R. Ambedkar Award for Excellence in Medical Research, the highest award of ICMR.

His research work covered various aspects of histocompatibility, immunogentics and HLA – linked genes. He identified the subtype of HLA-DR2 that carried a unique class II haplotype which made human susceptible to diseases such as leprosy and tuberculosis. In addition he also studied polymorphic immunomodulatory genes for developing molecular medicine to combat infectious and rheumatological diseases.

Professor Mehra has published more than 480 original research papers in leading international journals. His book ‘The HLA System in Medicine and Biology’ received high international acclaim. He has trained 40 Ph.D and more than 50 MD/MS in the area of Clinical Immunogenetics and Transplant Immunology.

Email: narin.mehra@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 9899087445