The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT)s 10th director D. Srinivasa Reddys career reads like a fairy tale.<\/p>\n
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award winner hails from Shobhanadripuram village in Nalgonda district, studied in a Telugu medium school till his graduation, did his post-graduation from Osmania University and Ph.D. from University of Hyderabad (UoH) under the tutelage of eminent academic-scientist Prof. Goverdhan Mehta.<\/p>\n
He is currently holding the additional charge of CSIR-Institute of Integrative Medicine (Jammu) and CSIR-Drug Research Institute (Lucknow). In this interview, Dr. Reddy talks about his life and plans for the premier chemical research institute.<\/p>\n
a) You have been a project assistant here and have returned as the director!<\/p>\n
A: My father was a farmer and I never thought of becoming a scientist. I came to Hyderabad for my Intermediate in Mahabub College and B.Sc (BZC) in S.P. College when I used to distribute newspapers, give home tuitions and worked in a timber depot loading logs to earn money. With a lot of difficulty I joined as a project associate in IICT. Later, I cleared my CSIR-NET exam and joined Prof. Mehta. From then on, it has been growing upwards though hard work and perseverance.<\/p>\n
b) How did your switch from private sector to research in public labs happen?<\/p>\n
A: After my post-doctoral studies in United States and seriously considering settling there, I was offered a job with Dr. Reddys Labs. Later, I moved to Advinus Therapeutics (Pune) after which I joined CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (Pune) as I wanted to pursue my passion for organic chemistry research, taking a huge pay cut. My wife, Vidya Ramdas, has been my co-researcher from UoH days and she continues to work in the pharma field. We have done some great work at NCL and I continue to have my lab with six research students. Soon, I will have a lab here and take in student researchers.<\/p>\n
c) What are the areas of research you have been working on?<\/p>\n
A: We developed the Silicon-switch approach for developing drug strategies for diseases affecting the central nervous system as most patents do not claim silicon derivatives. This has huge potential in discovering drugs in a short time. Our group has identified a few novel compounds that can protect from vector spreading diseases like dengue or zika virus and also kill the mosquitoes. We have filed a patent and talks are on with a private firm to develop this further for daily use. We have collaborated with different labs including CSIR-CCMB to authenticate the anti-cancer drug for use in Sickle Cell Anaemia.<\/p>\n
d) What will be the areas of focus here in IICT?<\/p>\n
A: We will be actively involved in the Anti-Virus Mission in association with other CSIR labs studying available molecules and re-purposing of existing anti-viral drugs to deal with SARS-COVID, Monkey Pox and several other viruses. We will soon have a BSL-3 facility here. We are actively assisting pharma and vaccine companies in their research. Our aim is to make the country self-reliant in APIs active pharmaceutical ingredients, KSMs- key starting materials and others with public, private partnerships. I am still trying to understand the various projects here.<\/p>\n
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\nIICT to be involved in anti-virus mission & public, private partnerships for developing APIs - The Hindu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"