Krishnarajanagar Nagappa Ganesh is an Indian bio-organic chemist and served as the (founding) director of

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati commonly referred as IISER Tirupati, is an autonomous public university in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. It has been established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, now t ...

(IISER Tirupati) since 2017 till 2023. He is also the founding director of

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER Pune) is an autonomous public university established in 2006. It is one of the seven Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, and was one of the first IISERs to be ...

, that was established in 2006 and served the office till 2017. He is a recipient of 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 ...

in chemical sciences (1998) for "his outstanding contribution towards the understanding of the chemical principles of DNA molecular recognition and for his work on various facets of DNA structure and its interaction with drugs and proteins". He is also a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy since 2000. Ganesh obtained his BSc (1970) and MSc (1972) degrees in chemistry from

Bangalore University Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by University Gra ...

and did his Ph.D. in 1976 from

Delhi University 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 ...

under the guidance of Dr. G.B.V Subramanian. Utilizing a Commonwealth Fellowship, he pursued higher studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he secured a second PhD degree in 1980. Upon returning to India, he joined the

Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (, IAST: ''Kośikīya evam āṇavik jīvavijñāna kendra'') or CCMB is an Indian fundamental biotechnology, life science research establishment located in Hyderabad that operates under the aegis ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

in 1981 where he established India’s first DNA synthesis facility and started research to study new motifs of DNA-protein interactions. In 1987, he moved to National Chemical Laboratory where he rose to become the Head of Organic Chemistry Division in 1994. In 2006, he was chosen as the First Director of the newly founded Indian Institute of Science Education and Research at Pune and in 2017 he was appointed as the first Director of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research at Tirupati. The research work of Ganesh is related to the chemistry and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

nucleic acid Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a pentose, 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nuclei ...

s with special focus on the applications of DNA analogues,

structural biology Structural biology deals with structural analysis of living material (formed, composed of, and/or maintained and refined by living cells) at every level of organization. Early structural biologists throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries we ...

of collagen peptides and DNA nanotechnology. He is recognised for his contributions to the design of

Peptide Nucleic Acid Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is an artificially synthesized polymer similar to DNA or RNA. Synthetic peptide nucleic acid oligomers have been used in recent years in molecular biology procedures, diagnostic assays, and antisense therapies. Due to ...

(PNA) analogues for effective cell

permeation In physics and engineering, permeation (also called imbuing) is the penetration of a wikt:permeate#English, permeate (a fluid such as a liquid, gas, or vapor) through a solid. It is directly related to the concentration gradient of the permeate, ...

Awards and recognition

The various awards and recognitions conferred on K N Ganesh include: *

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 2023 by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

*Fellow of all the three Science Academies in India, namely, 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 ...

, the National Academy of Sciences, India and the

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and List of Nobel laureates, Nobel Laureate Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 27 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it ...

*Fellow of

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) is a North–south research partnerships, merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting more than 1,400 scientists in some 1 ...

(TWAS) *President of Division of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry of

IUPAC The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...

(2012-2013) * Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award of Chemical sciences ( CSIR) *

TWAS Prize This is a list of recipients of the TWAS Prize, awarded annually by The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) since 1985. Summary Agricultural Sciences Biology Chemistry Earth Sciences Engineering Sciences Mathematics ...

for Chemical Sciences * SASTRA-CNR Rao Award of SASTRA University (2015) * H K Firodia Vijnan Bhushan Award (2015) *National Researcher Award in Nanoscience and Technology (2016). The positions that K N Ganesh holds or held include: *Member of various policy making and Project Advisory Committees of Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India *Member of Nanoscience Advisory Group of DST Nanoscience mission *Chairman, DBT Taskforce on Nanobiotechnology *Chairman, Finance Committee of India Alliance - Welcome Trust DBT *Chairman of Research Advisory Council of Institute of Nano Science and Technology,

Mohali Mohali, officially Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar or Ajitgarh, is a planned city in the Mohali district in Punjab, India, Punjab, India, which is an administrative and a commercial hub lying south-west of Chandigarh. It is the headquarters of the M ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

*Founding Editor for ACS Omega, the first open Access Journal from American Chemical Society

External links

Personal Home Page of K N Ganesh

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganesh, K N Living people Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Chemical Science Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering 1953 births