DIRECTOR

The institute is presently headed by Dr. Anirban Chakraborty, an academic researcher with more than twenty-five years of experience in molecular biology and biomedicine. He comes to NUCSER with his vast research knowledge in the area of rare genetic disease modelling, particularly those that are caused by defects in ribosome biogenesis (ribosomopathies), in the zebrafish system. Dr Anirban is also involved in developing non-invasive and alternative DNA-based molecular tools for detection of pathogenic variations in cancer. His other areas of his interest using the zebrafish system include high throughput screening of extracts from marine/terrestrial sources for potential drug discovery, determining developmental and organ-specific toxicity of natural compounds from terrestrial and aquatic environments, toxicity profiling of nanoparticles and chemical compounds and understanding the role of probiotics in aquaculture, development and validation of vaccine candidates against fish pathogens.

Dr. Anirban has had an illustrious research career, having completed his PhD from The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Kagoshima University, Japan with a MEXT fellowship and postdoc at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Japan with the prestigious JSPS fellowship. Prior to joining Nitte (Deemed to be University), Dr. Anirban has served as a senior research associate at the Laboratoire de Biologie Moleculaire Eucaryote (LBME), UMR CNRS 5099, Toulouse, France. He has published 96 scientific articles with a cumulative impact factor of >350, 3 books as editor, 5 book chapters and has 5 published patents. To date, he has received 19 research grants with a cumulative value of Rs 11.53 crores as PI/ CoPI from premier funding agencies such as ICMR, DST, DBT, KTech, SPARC, etc. He has guided 5 PhDs, and 21 PG students to date and several are currently pursuing their research under him. He has delivered 84 talks as a resource person/chief guest/invitee in scientific conferences and has organized 10 International and National conferences /symposiums as the Organizing Chairman or the Secretary. He has established dedicated research facilities including Liquid Biopsy Facility, Zebrafish Facility, Cancer and Allergy BioBank at NUCSER that are first of their kind in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

He is the founder of Consortium of Rare Genetic and Bone Marrow Disorders at Nitte DU (N-CRG.BMD|IN), a collaborative effort between clinicians and scientists for improved clinical therapies and outcomes for the patients suffering from rare disorders. He has also established The Cancer Gene Database at NitteDU (N-TCAG) that provides comprehensive information about the genetic and somatic variations in human cancer.

He is the project In charge and CEO of Nitte-GOK Centre of Excellence in Aquamarine Innovation (https://nittecoeaquamarin.com/), the only centre in Karnataka dedicated to research, innovation, capacity building and outreach in the field of marine biology and biotechnology. He also heads the NitteDU- Radboud UMC Centre for Human Functional Genomics & Systems Immunology and is the Director and CSO of TissuGenix Innovations Pvt. Ltd.. He also serves as a Triage Editor of Gene Reports, an Elsevier Journal.

At NUCSER, Dr. Anirban is leading a group of highly competent faculty with expertise in diverse areas of biological science and proven track record in research. NUCSER is a state-of-the-art institute involved in cutting-edge research in the field of biomedicine. Over the last ten years, the institute has seen a phenomenal growth in research and development, having obtained extramural funding worth several crores from premiere organisations in India and abroad. The core principles of NUCSER are based on three E’s- Educate, Empower and Excel in Science. At NUCSER, it is a constant endeavour to execute the core principles through a holistic approach with ample opportunities for novel and innovative research in the field of one health. Under his dynamic, perceptive, and intelligent leadership, NUCSER continues to strive towards research and academic excellence in the field of biomedicine.