Bimal Kumar Bachhawat (1925–1996;

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

) was an Indian neurochemist and glycobiologist, known for his discovery of

HMG-CoA lyase 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase (or HMG-CoA lyase) is an enzyme ( that in human is encoded by the HMGCL gene located on chromosome 1. It is a key enzyme in ketogenesis (ketone body formation). It is a ketogenic enzyme in the liver that c ...

, an intermediate in the

mevalonate Mevalonic acid (MVA) is a key organic compound in biochemistry; the name is a contraction of dihydroxymethylvalerolactone. The carboxylate anion of mevalonic acid, which is the predominant form in biological environments, is known as ''mevalonate ...

and

ketogenesis Ketogenesis is the biochemical process through which organisms produce ketone bodies by breaking down fatty acids and ketogenic amino acids. The process supplies energy to certain organs, particularly the brain, heart and skeletal muscle, unde ...

pathway, and for the elucidation of the molecular cause of metachromatic leukodystrophy, a hereditary disease of the brain His studies on sugar-bearing

liposomes A liposome is a small artificial vesicle, spherical in shape, having at least one lipid bilayer. Due to their hydrophobicity and/or hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, particle size and many other properties, liposomes can be used as drug deliver ...

led to its use as a carrier for

in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...

delivery of drugs and hormones to diseased organs and he pioneered the therapy of systemic fungal infections using liposomal formulations. He was a recipient of several awards including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, the highest Indian honor in science and technology and an elected fellow of three major Indian science academies. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

, in 1990, for his contributions to science.

Biography

Bimal Kumar Bachhawat was born on 26 August 1925 as one among five brothers and three sisters in Kolkata, in the

Bengal region Bengal ( ) is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern- ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. His graduate degree in chemistry and master's degree in applied chemistry came from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

after which he pursued his doctoral research in antibiotics at the Department of Food Technology of

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University ( abbr. JU) is a public state funded research university with its main campus located at Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established on 25 July in 1906 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into ...

under the supervision of A. N. Bose. Moving to US, he continued his research at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

under the guidance of Carl Swensson Vestling and obtained his doctoral degree (PhD) in 1953. Subsequently, he worked with Minor J. Coon, first at

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and then at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, working on the formation of

ketone bodies Ketone bodies are water-soluble molecules or compounds that contain the ketone groups produced from fatty acids by the liver ( ketogenesis). Ketone bodies are readily transported into tissues outside the liver, where they are converted into acet ...

in mammals. Bachhawat return to India in 1957 to join Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC),

Vellore Vellore ( ), also spelled Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River and surrounded by the Javadi Hills in the northeastern ...

and established a centre for advanced research in

neurochemistry Neurochemistry is the study of chemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that control and influence the physiology of the nervous system. This particular field within neuroscience e ...

and

glycobiology Defined in the narrowest sense, glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of saccharides (sugar chains or glycans) that are widely distributed in nature. Sugars or saccharides are essential components of all living thin ...

. Here, he did research on

glycolipids Glycolipids () are lipids with a carbohydrate attached by a glycosidic (covalent) bond. Their role is to maintain the stability of the cell membrane and to facilitate cellular recognition, which is crucial to the immune response and in the co ...

glycosaminoglycans Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) or mucopolysaccharides are long, linear polysaccharides consisting of repeating disaccharide units (i.e. two-sugar units). The repeating two-sugar unit consists of a uronic acid, uronic sugar and an amino sugar, except i ...

and

glycoproteins Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide (sugar) chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known a ...

and their role in neural development and neurological disorders. After working close to two decades at CMC, he moved to his native place, Kolkata, to take up the position as the director of the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) in 1976. It was during this time, he was elected as the president of the ''Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists'' (FAOB), the first Indian to be elected to the post and held the position from 1983 to 1985. He stayed with IICB till 1985 when he was appointed as the head of the Department of Biochemistry at the

University of Delhi The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

and superannuated from service in 1990 as the Dean of the Faculty of Interdisciplinary and Applied Sciences. After retirement from academic career, he served as the president of the Society of Biological Chemists for a second time (he had served the Society as its president in 1970 for a two year-term) and remained as the president till 1994 during which time the society organized the 1994 congress of the

International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) is an international non-governmental organisation concerned with biochemistry and molecular biology. Formed in 1955 as the International Union of Biochemistry (IUB), the union ...

(IUBMB). He was associated with the

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR; IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada'') is a research and development (R&D) organisation in India to promote scientific, industrial and economic growth. Headquarter ...

(CSIR) as the chairman of its technical advisory board on biological studies and was a council member (1975–77) and vice president (1987–88) of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three b ...

. Bachhawat was married to Kamala and the couple had two daughters, Kalpana and Kiran, and a son, Anand. He died on 23 September 1996, at the age of 71, survived by his wife and children.

Legacy

Bachhawat's principal contributions are spread in three areas; institution building, researches in neurochemistry and glycobiology, and academics. At Christian Medical College, he established a centre of excellence for advanced research in neurochemistry and glycobiology, known to be the first of its kind in the world. Under his directorship, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, developed into a major research center of contemporary biology. Later, at the

, he established the Department of Biochemistry. The first of Bachhawat's major research findings came when he was working with Minor J. Coon at the

. Both the scientists together discovered

, an intermediate in the

and

pathway, thus broadening the understanding of the ''formation of ketone bodies in mammals'', which was later elucidated further in his article ''Enzymic cleavage of p-Hydroxy-f3-Methyl-Glutaryl coenzyme A 10 acetoacctate and acetyl coenzyme A.'', published in 1995. On his return to India, he focused his studies on

amino acids Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the Proteinogenic amino acid, 22 α-amino acids incorporated into p ...

and inorganic sulphate metabolism, as well as

glycosaminoglycan Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) or mucopolysaccharides are long, linear polysaccharides consisting of repeating disaccharide units (i.e. two-sugar units). The repeating two-sugar unit consists of a uronic sugar and an amino sugar, except in the case o ...

. His researches revealed, for the first time, that metachromatic leukodystrophy, an

autosomal recessive In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the Phenotype, effect of a different variant of the same gene on Homologous chromosome, the other copy of the chromosome. The firs ...

disease, was caused by the absence of Arylsulfatase A, an enzyme responsible for the breaking down on

sulfatide Sulfatide, also known as 3-O-sulfogalactosylceramide, SM4, or sulfated galactocerebroside, is a class of sulfolipids, specifically a class of sulfoglycolipids, which are glycolipids that contain a sulfate group. Sulfatide is synthesized primarily s ...

s. This discovery assisted other scientists in the elucidation of similar

glycolipid Glycolipids () are lipids with a carbohydrate attached by a glycosidic (covalent) bond. Their role is to maintain the stability of the cell membrane and to facilitate cellular recognition, which is crucial to the immune response and in the c ...

storage diseases such as

Gaucher's disease Gaucher's disease or Gaucher disease () (GD) is a genetic disorder in which glucocerebroside (a sphingolipid, also known as glucosylceramide) accumulates in cells and certain organs. The disorder is characterized by bruising, fatigue, anemia, low ...

and

Tay–Sachs disease Tay–Sachs disease is an Genetic disorder, inherited fatal lysosomal storage disease that results in the destruction of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The most common form is infantile Tay–Sachs disease, which becomes apparent arou ...

and in their

prenatal diagnosis Prenatal testing is a tool that can be used to detect some birth defects at various stages prior to birth. Prenatal testing consists of prenatal screening and prenatal diagnosis, which are aspects of prenatal care that focus on detecting problem ...

. His proposals on the biosynthesis and degradation of cerebroside-3-sulfate, a lipid found in high concentrations in patients afflicted with metachromatic leukodystrophy were known to have helped in the latter-day therapeutic protocols. Bachhawat and his colleagues were credited with the discovery of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid which led to the understanding of the occurrence of N-acetylneuraminic acid at cell-surfaces. His studies explained the role of

in neuronal development and the property of glycolipids as biological receptors. On the therapeutic side, he proposed ways for ''

'' delivery of drugs and enzymes to the affected organs, using sugar-bearing

. He also worked on the therapy of systemic fungal infections by developing liposomal formulations. On the academic front, he contributed in developing the departments he helped establish at CMC Vellore and Delhi University into centes of excellence in research. His researches have been documented by way of over 150 scientific papers published in refereed journals and he has also edited a number of books. He served as a member of the editorial board of ''Indian Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics'' and he mentored 42 research scholars for master's and doctoral studies. Apart from the

congress of 1994, he was a part of the organizing committee of many other international conferences held in India.

Selected articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Awards and honors

Bimal Kumar Bachhawat received the

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Shanti or Shanthi may refer to: In Sanskrit * Inner peace, a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress * Kshanti, one of the paramitas of B ...

for Biological sciences of the

, the highest Indian award in science and technology, in 1962. He was awarded Amrut Mody Research Foundation Award in 1974, the Golden Jubilee Award of the

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The ...

(IISc) in 1976, and the FICCI Award of the

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla a ...

in 1982. R. D. Birla Smarak Kosh Award reached him in 1986 and the Government of India included him the Republic Day Honours list for the civilian award of the

in 1990. A recipient of the ''Outstanding Teacher Award'', Bachhawat also delivered several award orations; J. C. Bose Memorial Award (1980) and B. C. Guha Award (1984) of the Indian Science Congress Association, R. N. Chopra Lectureship (1977), Prof, J. B. Chatterji Memorial Oration and Gold Medal of

Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine (CSTM) is a medical institute from Kolkata, India, dedicated in the field of tropical disease. It was established in 1914 by Leonard Rogers (1868–1962) of the Indian Medical Service, professor of pathology ...

and Distinguished Scientist Lecture of the

(1989) are some of the notable ones among them. Bachhawat was elected as a fellow by the Indian National Science Academy in 1973, and a year later, the Indian Academy of Sciences inducted him as their fellow. He was also an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and held the Bhatnagar Fellowship of the

since 1990. The National Academy of Sciences, India, jointly with

Jaypee Institute of Information Technology Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (JIIT) is a private deemed-to-be-university, situated in Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India. History The institute was founded in 2001 by Jaypee Group and commenced its opera ...

(JIIT), have instituted an annual oration, ''Professor B. K. Bachhawat Memorial Lecture'', in his honor. ''Phytochemicals & Human Health: Pharmacological & Molecular Aspects - A Tribute to Late Professor Bimal Kumar Bachhawat '' is a text on

phytochemicals Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extract, extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The field ...

published by

Nova Science Publishers Nova Science Publishers is an academic publisher of books, encyclopedias, handbooks, e-books and journals, based in Hauppauge, New York. It was founded in 1985. Nova is included in Book Citation Index (part of Web of Science Core Collection) an ...

in honor of Bachhawat in 2011.

Trivia

* Bachhawat was known to have been fascinated by the

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...

saying, ''In the field of experimentation, chance favors only the prepared mind.'' * Human

Genomics Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of molecular biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, ...

and the ethical and socio-economic issues related to it were topics of interest to him. * The brain storming sessions he organized during his tenancy as the chairman of the CSIR Technical Advisory Board later developed into a full-fledged movement, the ''Molecular Immunology Forum'', which meets every year.

References

External links

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