Scientific community of the city beautiful and Panjab University is deeply shocked by the sudden demise of Dr. Girish Sahni
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ August 19,2024
The entire scientific community of the city and Panjab University is deeply shocked by the sudden demise of Dr. Girish Sahni. Born on March 2, 1956, Dr. Sahni was an esteemed alumnus of Panjab University. He completed his graduation and post-graduation in Microbiology from the university (1973-78) and went on to pursue his PhD at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
Dr. Sahni’s post-PhD career included notable positions at the University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, where he served as a Postdoctoral Trainee from 1984-86; Rockefeller University, New York, as a Senior Research Associate and Adjunct Faculty from 1986-88; and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, as a Senior Research Associate from 1987-91.
He rose to the position of Director of the CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH), Chandigarh, serving from 2005-2015, and later assumed the prestigious role of Director General of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary of the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology, 2015-2018. Honorary Professor at Panjab University Chandigarh. Bhatnagar fellow at IMTECH and IHBT, visiting professor ISB.
Dr. Sahni specialized in Protein Engineering, Molecular Biology, and Biotechnology. He made significant contributions to the field of protein-based cardiovascular drugs, particularly in the development of ‘clot busters’ and their mechanisms of action within the human body. Under his leadership, his team developed technology for India’s first indigenous clot buster drug, natural streptokinase. The worth of this technology was over 160 million dollars. Furthermore, they were responsible for the groundbreaking development of fourth-generation ‘anti-thrombotic’ clot busters, the first of their kind in the world.
Dr. Sahni was internationally recognized for his scientific achievements and research contributions. In recognition of his work, he received the Vigyan Rattan Award from Panjab University in 2014. He was also honoured by Panjab University and the Alumni Cell of the Department of Microbiology with awards for excellence in 2022. Among his many accolades were the National Biotechnology Product Development Award (2002), the CSIR Technology Shield (2001-2002), the Vasvik Industrial Award (2000), the Ranbaxy Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences (2003), the Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award (2013), and the CSIR Technology Award for Business Development and Technology Marketing (2014). He was fellow of all the major associations of India.
Scientific community of the city beautiful and Panjab University is deeply shocked by the sudden demise of Dr. Girish Sahni . Dr. Sahni’s contributions to science and technology will be remembered and cherished for years to come.
