Anuranjan Anand


Anuranjan Anand is a geneticist studying molecular and cellular basis of human genetic disorders. He is a Professor at Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, and an Adjunct Professor and Chair at Neuroscience Unit of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. Anuranjan Anand is an elected fellow of Indian science academies: Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences, India, and Indian Academy of Sciences. He received an Outstanding Research Investigator Award of the Department of Atomic Energy in the year 2006, and National Bioscience Award of the Department of Biotechnology in 2008.

Biography and career

Anuranjan Anand did his doctoral studies at the Indian Institute of Science. Subsequently, he moved to the US for his post-doctoral studies at the Stanford University. On his return to India, he joined the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research as a faculty member at the Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit and later became a Professor and Chair of the Unit. When the institute established the Neuroscience Unit in 2014, he was designated as its associate faculty and is the Chair of the Unit. He also serves as an adjunct faculty at Centre for Human Genetics, Bangalore.

Research

During his post-doctoral days at Stanford, Anuranjan Anand worked with his colleagues at the Baker's Lab on the genetic mutations of fruitless, a gene involved in sexual behavior and courtship in Drosophila melanogaster. Back in India, his main focus has been on human genetic disorders with special emphasis on human epilepsy syndromes and hereditary hearing loss His laboratory has discovered a number of genes and mutations causing epilepsy and profound hearing impairment. Cellular and molecular mechanisms controlled by these genes are currently being studied in his laboratory

Honors

The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Developmentin 2008. The Indian Academy of Sciences elected him as a fellow in 2011, the National Academy of Sciences, India in 2013, and the Indian National Science Academy in 2016.

Selected bibliography

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