Hyderabad,:
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany has selected
Professor Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain, Vice-Chancellor, University of
Hyderabad,for the highly prestigious Humboldt Research Award 2008.
This Award is given to “eminent non-German researchers whose
fundamental discoveries, insights or new theories have had a lasting
impact on their field of specialization and who
are expected to produce cutting edge results”. The Humboldt Research
Prize honours the academic achievements to date of internationally
recognized scientists and is valued at €60000 (about Rs.37 lakhs).
“A not insignificant number of Award Winners has subsequently been
granted a Nobel Prize” says the release from the Humboldt
Foundation.
Professor Hasnain was the first Director of the Centre for DNA
Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad and is presently
the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad. He currently
leads an active research group on the molecular epidemiology and
functional biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that
causes tuberculosis and has authored more than 180 research papers
and about a dozen international patents.
A recipient of the Padma Shri from the President of India, Hasnain
has received several prestigious Awards including the Shanti Swarup
Bhatnagar Prize, the Ranbaxy Research Award, J.C. Bose Fellowship
and the more prestigious G.D. Birla Award which is given annually to
a scientist who has excelled in all branches of sciences put
together. Honoured with several other national and international
professional recognitions, Professor Hasnain is a Fellow of several
prestigious national and international science Academies including
the German National Science Academy, Leopoldina; and was the
youngest to be ever elected to the prestigious Third World Academy
of Sciences (TWAS), Trieste, Italy; Indian National Science Academy
(INSA), India etc.
Editor-in-Chief of Gut Pathogens (Elsevier Publishers), he is
associated with the editorial boards of many other scientific
journals.Professor Hasnain is a member of the Scientific Advisory
Council to the Prime Minister of India and is the Chairman of the
Biotechnology Advisory Council to the Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh.
-MK
