He has taken charge early this month from the acting director, Dr G Venkateswara Rao.
Prior to this appointment, Prof. Rajasekharan was the director, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow. Earlier he was professor, department of biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and visiting professor, School of Science, Monash University, Sunway Campus, Malaysia.
For the past 12 years, Prof. Rajasekharan has been teaching general biochemistry at IISc as part of the course curriculum for graduate students. He has also taught biochemistry at the undergraduate level at Monash University, besides having developed a new course on food biochemistry. He has guided PhD candidates and mentored post-doctoral fellows.
His administrative experience includes - founder, research director, Bijam Biosciences Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad, where he assisted in setting up the R&D facilities for Nagarjuna Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd, Hyderabad. He was the founder chief scientific officer at TICEL Bio Park, Chennai, and went on to develop the Tamil Nadu State Bio Park with research-driven operation and management.
Prof. Rajasekharan managed many target-driven research activities and acquired funding from private sources, both national (ITC, Nagarjuna Chemicals & Fertilisers, Biocon, Orchid Pharma, CB Bioproducts) and international (Dow Agrosciences, Indianapolis, USA) companies.
His capability and success in delivery of projects led him to bag the Prof. I S Bhatia Memorial Award - 2011, pro vice-chancellor award for excellence in research - 2008 and 2009, from Monash University; National Academy of Sciences; Reliance Industries: platinum jubilee award for application oriented innovations in biological sciences (2008); Sir C V Raman state award in life sciences - 2004 by the ministry of science and technology, Karnataka government; national bioscience award for career development - 2002 from department of Biotechnology, Government of India; and Nagarjuna group agricultural biotechnology excellence award - 1999.
Armed with a degree in zoology and a post-graduate qualification in integrated biology, he is a doctorate in biochemistry. His experience spans from areas of plant engineering to the entire gamut of bio-sciences that is driven by his scientific acumen. This has led him to hold several fellowships, memberships in scientific societies and co-authored books. He holds US patents for a novel herbicide comprising phytotoxins of Lasiodiplodia theobromae (LT) fungus, and a process for preparing a novel synergistic solid/semi-solid organic composition.
