Academy Professor, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research and
Founder Director, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India
Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari is the Academy Professor, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, India and Chief Mentor, Open-Source Drug Discovery. He served as the Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India (2007-13). He is the Founder Director of CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology, Delhi (1997-2007) and championed genomics research in India. Prior to this he was a Professor of Biophysics at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and made fundamental discoveries, demonstrating the structural flexibility of DNA and role of repetitive sequences in DNA transactions when repetitive DNA sequences were considered Junk. His scientific research is focused on the integration of Structural Biology with Genomics, Molecular Biology, and Information Science, forging towards Integrative Biology. Dr Brahmachari has made major contribution in molecular analysis of genetic disorders associated with trinucleotide amplification and repetitive sequence instability. He and his group provided a novel structural framework for understanding the aetiology of several neurological disorders leading to development of several diagnostics.
He conceptualized and implemented functional genomics in India and the Indian Genome Variation (IGV) project, a landmark contribution in developing the genetic landscape of India. He led the Indian team in the Pan-Asian SNP consortium. He pioneered research on Ayurgenomics, a convergence of Ayurveda Science, a traditional personalized Medicine, and Genomics. Anticipating global future of medicine, he conceptualized and established the Open-Source Drug Discovery for tuberculosis. This collaborative translational research platform for affordable healthcare, crowd-sourced thousands of students and researchers across the world, a model for Science 2.0. The Open-Source model received global recognition during COVID-19 pandemic. Prof. Brahmachari is presently mentoring several startups in healthcare, genomic medicine, and big data analytics.
Internationally recognized for his role as a genomics pioneer in India, he was inducted to HUGO membership in 1991, an elected member of the HUGO Council (2004-11) and as Chairman, 13th International HGM-2008, India. He served on the Advisory Board of the X Prize in Genomics Archon-X prize, USA (2006-14), member of Expert Group on Human Rights and Biotechnology Commission of United Nations (2002) and the Scientific Advisory Board of US National Center of Biomedical Ontology (NCBO), Stanford University (2012-14); and served as advisory board member of the ‘Access and Delivery Partnership for Neglected Diseases’ project (UNDP, 2013-18) and a member of International Scientific Advisory Board of Open Innovation Centre CRI, University of Paris V (2016-2023),France and International Advisory Board of India TB Research Consortium, India (2015-). He is an elected fellow of the World Academy of Sciences; the European Society of Preventive Medicine, and a member of all four National Academies of Science & Engineering in India. He received many honorary doctorates and several national and international awards.
