Professor Dorairajan Balasubramanian
Director of Research, LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad
ABSTRACT
The cell is the fundamental unit of all life, and has two basic minimum features that define it as living: One is that it has the informational material which allows it to make more of itself, and the second is that it must necessarily interact with its immediate environment to gain (and lose) energy/material. While the former is called its genome, the latter is defined as its metabolism. The genome contains all the information for both features- for reproduction and for metabolism. This information is contained in the genome in the form a collection of individual genes. All organisms start from a single cell, which not only divides and grows but also differentiates to generate different types of cells, each type generating tissues and different organs and thus the organism itself. This starting single cell, out of which the entire organism is built, is referred to as the embryonic stem cell; "embryonic" since it is out of this that the organism is born, and "stem" since it has the ability to generate all other cell types (it is thus totipotent, has the potential to ultimately make all other cell types in the organism). Why is it that we need the embryonic cell to make body parts, and not any other cell, say the skin cell? Do they not contain the same genome, or are some genes in the genome get silenced or lost upon differentiation? This question was answered definitively by a beautiful experiment by John Gurdon, which we will highlight in the talk. It is through this that cloning became possible, and Dolly the baby sheep was born.
Are there other stem cells in the body besides the embryonic stem cells? Can they make tissues, and organs? This question will also be addressed by some examples from experiments involving cells of the bone marrow, and cells surrounding the human cornea. A video clip will also be shown on how a damaged cornea of human patients can be repaired using stem cells from the limbus and vision can be restored, by surgeons at the LV Prasad Eye Institute.
BIO DATA of Prof D Balasubramanian
Current Position: Director of Research, L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500 034, India (since June 1998). Phone: +91-40-2354 3652; Email: dbala@lvpei.org.
Also Visiting Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne, Australia, and Adjunct Professor, BITS Pilani, India, Visiting Professor, Panjab University
Earlier Positions: Director, Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad 500 007, India (until June 1998). Professor and Dean, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, (1977-1982); Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur (1967-1977).
Academic Training: M. Sc. Chemistry, Birla College, Pilani, India, 1959. Ph. D. Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, USA, 1965; Postdoctoral Fellow: Univ. Minnesota Medical School, 1965-66.
Research Interests: Molecular and Cellular Approaches to Understand and Treat Diseases of the Eye. Published over 170 research papers and 2 books.
Other Major Interest: Work in the area of Public Understanding of Science, through popular science newspaper columns, radio and TV programs. Published over 450 popular articles and 6 books. Working with governments and agencies on issues of science and technology; Chairman- Biotechnology Advisory Council, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh.
Honours & Awards: "Padma Shri": National honour by the President of India, 2002 "Chevalier de l'Ordre National de Merite": National honour by the President of France, 2002. President Indian Academy of Sciences (2007-2010); Secretary General: Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (earlier called the Third World Academy of Sciences, or TWAS), Trieste, Italy (2006-to date);
Awarded the Bhatnagar Prize in Chemical Science, India 1981. Won the Ranbaxy, Goyal, Bhasin and FICCI Awards, India. Awarded the Third World Academy of Science Award in Basic Medical Sciences, 1995 and the Khwarizmi Award of Iran in Basic Medical Sciences, 1996. Awarded the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science, 1997, Paris, France. Awarded both the Indian National Science Academy's Indira Gandhi Prize for Science Popularization, and the DST/NCSTC India's National Prize for Science Popularization 2002. Biospectrum Lifetime Achievement Award in Biotechnology, 2009. Eminent Citizen of Hyderabad Award, 2010. Distinguished Alumni Award, Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS Pilani), 2011
Personal details: Date of Birth: August 28, 1939; Citizen of India. Married to Shakti (ETV producer), two daughters: Katyayani (research analyst) and Akhila (public health professional).