7th BioGroup Meeting at CSIR-CDRI Showcases Breakthroughs in Biomedical Research and Collaboration
Fri, 11 Jul 2025
Lucknow desk (R L Pandey).The CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR-CDRI), Lucknow, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur), jointly organizing the 7th BioGroup India Meeting on July 11–12, 2025. This national scientific event brought together a vibrant community of biologists, chemists, physicists, and clinicians from across India to discuss recent advancements in life sciences and to foster collaborations aimed at addressing challenging healthcare questions.
The meeting began with a welcome address by Dr. Radha Rangarajan, Director of CSIR-CDRI, followed by an introduction to the BioGroup by Dr. Niti Kumar (CSIR-CDRI) and Dr. Saravanan Matheshwaran. BioGroup India is a dynamic and interdisciplinary platform for young and mid-career scientists to engage, mentor, and collaborate across domains.
A highlight of the event was the mentor talk by Prof. Sudipta Maiti (BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus), titled “Virgin Roads and Missed Boats: What You Can Learn from My Continuing Journey in Science”, which provided deeply personal and inspiring insights into scientific growth and decision-making.
Over seven scientific sessions, more than 30 distinguished speakers from leading institutions including IITs, IISERs, AIIMS, BITS Pilani, NISER, and CSIR laboratories presented work across critical areas such as:
• Infectious diseases and host-pathogen biology
• Neurodegenerative, metabolic, and rare genetic disorders
• Cancer progression, signaling, and gene regulation
• Emerging drug targets and antimicrobial strategies
• RNA therapeutics and protein homeostasis
• Genome organization, bioinformatics, and single-cell sequencing
• Translational research and industry-academia collaborations
Highlights from the Scientific
Program included:
During the session interesting talks were delivered by Dr. Niti Kumar, from CSIR-CDRI on Proteostasis in the Malaria Parasite, Dr. Bhupendra Verma, from AIIMS Delhi on RNA-Based Therapeutics Against Dengue, Dr. Poonam Thakur, from IISER Trivandrum on Lipid Alterations in Parkinson’s Disease, Dr. Krishna Kurthkoti, Chanakya from University Mycobacterial DNA Repair and Biofilm Fitness.
Later in another session, Dr. N. Sadananda Singh, from IISER Trivandrum delivered talk on Genomic Approaches in Comparative Bovine Biology, Dr. Ashwani Thakur from IIT Kanpur on Discovery of Amyloid Composites in Seeds, Dr. Hamim Zafar, from IIT Kanpur on Scalable Single-Cell Sequencing for Cancer Heterogeneity, Dr. Saravanan Palani, from IISc Bangalore on Twists and Tethers in Cytoskeletal Evolution, and Dr. Chandrashekarn Siddamadappa, from Vipragen delivered a talk on Drug Discovery Through Industry-Academia Models.
The event also featured student flash talks, offering a platform for young minds to showcase their ideas, receive feedback, and connect with experienced scientists and mentors.
The meeting concluded with closing remarks by CSIR-CDRI students, reflecting the spirit of creativity and collaboration. The 7th BioGroup India Meeting successfully strengthening its mission as a platform for scientific excellence, interdisciplinary dialogue, and collaborative synergy, reaffirming the commitment of CSIR-CDRI and IIT-Kanpur to advancing biomedical research and innovation in India.