Virendra Nath Pandey | |
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| Born | (1947-10-08)8 October 1947 (age 78) Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Studies on DNA recombinase enzyme complex |
| Awards | 1991 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
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Virendra Nath Pandey (born 1947) is an Indian geneticist,molecular virologist andenzymologist, known for his studies on theDNArecombinaseenzyme complex.[1] He is an associate professor at theNew Jersey Medical School of theRutgers University and a former scientist atBhabha Atomic Research Center.[2] 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 1991, for his contributions to biological sciences.[3]
Virendra Nath Pandey, after completing his graduate (Biology and Agricultural Sciences) and master's (Mycology and Plant Pathology) degrees in 1966 and 1968 respectively fromBanaras Hindu University, started his career as a lecturer at Ranjit Singh Memorial PG College ofDr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University (formerly Agra University), where he worked until 1970.[4] His next move was to Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited,Rishikesh as a microbiologist and in 1973, he joinedBhabha Atomic Research Centre as an assistant professor, simultaneously pursuing his doctoral studies to secure his PhD fromMumbai University in 1985. He served BARC until 1996 when he moved toNew Jersey Medical School ofRutgers University as an assistant professor where he is aemeritus professor at the department of microbiology, biochemistry and molecular genetics.[2]
Pandey's researches are focused ongenetic recombination and his studies on young rats revealedthe presence of a DNArecombinase enzyme complex associated with theirthymicnuclear matrix.[5] He proposed that this presence in theprolymphocytes influences the rearrangement and recombination of genes in vertebrates. His researches are documented in a number of articles;ResearchGate, an online repository of scientific papers, has listed 91 of them.[6] He has attended several international seminars, chaired many of them and has been an invited speaker at several others;Reverse Transcription Session of Retroviral Meeting ofCold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2003),International Conference on Drug Discovery ofCentral Drug Research Institute (2006), 36th Annual Meeting of Control Release Society, Copenhagen (2009) andVirology, Immunology and Epidemiology of Hepatitis Viruses - International Conference on Virology at Baltimore (2011) are some of the notable ones.[4] He held the Biotechnology Associateship of theDepartment of Biotechnology in 1991 and theCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded him theShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards the same year.[3]
