Dr. Guru Prakash Dutta | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1933-11-19)19 November 1933 India |
| Died | 25 April 2021(2021-04-25) (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Punjab University |
| Known for |
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| Awards | 1976 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cell biology |
| Institutions | |
Guru Prakash Dutta (19 November 1933 - 25 April 2021) was an Indian cell biologist andimmunologist, known for his contributions to the subjects of Experimentalprotozoology andImmunology.[1][2] His researches are reported to have assisted in the development of a number ofanti-malarial drugs.[3] He was an elected fellow of theIndian National Science Academy,National Academy of Sciences, India and Indian Society of Parasitology. TheCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him theShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1976, for his contributions to biological sciences.[4]
Guru Prakash Dutta, after graduating in zoology in 1952 from DAV College,Jallandhar[5] ofPunjab University, followed it up with an honors degree in 1955, a master's degree (MSc) in 1956 and a doctoral degree (PhD) in 1961 from the same institution.[3] He started his career as a lecturer at his alma mater in 1962 where he stayed till his move toCentral Drug Research Institute (CDRI) in 1964; in between, he had a stint atNational Institutes of Health, Bethesda as a post-doctoral fellow during 1962–63. He served CDRI for more than three decades and was a director's grade scientist at the time of his superannuation in 1993. Post his retirement, he served as an emeritus scientist of theCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research at CDRI from 1994 to 1998 and as an honorary consultant onMalaria at theCentral Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants from 1998 to 2000.[3]
Dutta, whose researches on experimentalprotozoology assisted in a wider understanding ofprotozoa and its functionalmorphology, is known to have developed new techniques for the culture of those unicellulareukaryotic organisms and studied their metabolic and growth responses tophysico-chemical factors, with special emphasis onEntamoeba histolytica, ananaerobic parasite which causesamoebiasis.[6] His work on the antimalarial drugs helped in the development of several fast-acting drugs andalpha/betaarteether,alpha andbetaarteether,alpha andbeta artelinate,dihydroartemisinin,pyronaridine, bulaquine and Tefenoquine are some of drugs developed with the assistance of his researches.[3][note 1]
Dutta's researches have been detailed in over 275 articles[7][8] and two books,Antimalarial Drug Development and Prophylaxis against Malaria andExperimental and Clinical Studies on Amoebiasis.[9] TheInternational Review of Cytology ofAcademic Press has published five reviews, three onCytochemistry and ultrastructure of Protozoa and two onAmoebiasis andResearchGate, an online repository of scientific articles, has listed 130 of his papers.[10] He has been a collaborator forWalter Reed Army Institute of Research in two of their international programs on Malaria which ran between 1983 and 1994. He has also mentored 40 master's and doctoral scholars in their researches.[3]
Dutta received the degree of Doctor of Science from thePunjab University in 1973 and theCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him theShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biological sciences in 1976.[2] TheIndian National Science Academy elected him as their fellow in 1984 and theNational Academy of Sciences, India followed INSA with their fellowship in 1991.[11] He was also elected by the Indian Society for Parasitology as a fellow in 1993.[12]
