Rajesh S. Gokhale. Photo: Infosys Science Foundation
New Delhi: Rajesh S. Gokhale, a scientist of the National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi, has been appointed as the secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. Gokhale takes over from Renu Swarup, who is set to retire on October 31.
Gokhale joined the NII in 1999 and spent a decade implementing a cutting-edge biotechnology research programme. He subsequently served as the director of the CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology from 2009 to 2016, before returning to the NII in 2017. He also briefly served as the director-in-charge of the NII in 2021, and in September moved on deputation to the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, as a professor.
Gokhale is a leading scientist on the study of tuberculosis. His work has yielded novel insights into metabolic pathways that operate in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen, that are responsible for causing the infection. He has also made important contributions towards understanding the interplay between metabolic reprogramming and immunity vis-à-vis the autoimmune skin disorder known as vitiligo.
He has received several awards, including the Wellcome Trust senior research fellowship (2001-2006), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute international research scholarship (2005-2010), the Swarnajayanti fellowship (2006-2011), the Bhatnagar Prize (2006), the National Bioscience Award for Career Development (2009), the Infosys Prize (2013) and the J.C. Bose National Fellowship (2018-present).
Gokhale is also a member of many professional and academic bodies and societies. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the National Academy of Sciences India and the India Academy of Sciences. He was elected to the Guha Research Conference in 2005. He also served as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (2014-2017), as section editor of the journal Tuberculosis (2007-2017) and with the Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics (2013-present).
India Science Wire