Avesthagen

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	Dr. Villoo Morawala Patell Founder, Chairperson & Managing Director Dr. Villoo Morawala-Patell is an Academic Entrepreneur who founded Avesthagen in 1998. Avesthagen is globally recognized as a leading systems biology company with a unique model focused on the convergence of food, pharma and population genetics. A convergence that leads to continuous and path-breaking innovations in predictive, preventive, personalized healthcare. Owing to her pioneering work in the field of molecular biology, Dr. Patell has long-standing professional relationships with individuals, institutions and corporates working in the domain of biotechnology across the world. She is a key member of the Task Force and Vision Group for Biotechnology, instituted by the State Government of Karnataka and founding member of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE). Dr. Patell was Awarded the 'Officer of the National Order of Merit' by the President of the French Republic in April 2008. View Profile
	Mr. Manoj Bawa Chief Finance Officer Mr Manoj Bawa joined the Company as Chief Finance Officer in November 2009. He is a Chartered Accountant with 26 years rich experience in Finance and Accounts, Taxation and US Gaap. Before joining the Company, he worked with reputed Companies such as McAfee, Cisco, Talisma, and VeriFone ."
	Mr Sudhir Kant Chief Operating Officer A dynamic Chemical Engineer with MBA in Marketing having 27 years of experience in a Multinational Company in Bangalore in the high technology field related to Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology. Extensive and successful corporate career spanning more than two decades in key positions. Mr Kant has rich and diversified expertise in setting up Organisations, Implementing ERP systems, Setting up R&D labs, Software Center, Validation/Accsess Labs, and establishing EOU worldwide. Mr Kant is a Chemical Engineer from University of Kanpur and has MBA in Marketing from Panjab University. Mr Kant is actively involved in various socio cultural fronts of India and has represented the employers front in the capacity of Chairman/President to the Government of Karnataka and Government of India. He is also a active contributory to associations like, Peenya Action Task Force, Thoreau Foundation, North Bangalore Industries Association.
	Mr. Koen Wentink Chief of Corporate Alliances & JVs Mr. Koen Completed his Master of Science Degree in Agriculture (Crop Science) at Wageningen Agricultural University. The Netherlands with Majors in Plant Breeding, Crop Modeling and Business Administration, he has immense experience in productivity improvement and management control in Europe and Asia in diverse businesses. Here at Avesthagen he is a member of the management team and responsible for ensuring corporate and legal functions of the company.
	Dr. Mittur N Jagadish Senior Vice President bioAgriculture Dr. Jagadish brings with him over 21 years of experience. He is a Former Director of Monsanto Research Center, India. Dr. Jagadish obtained BSc (Hons) and MSc in Botany from Bangalore University and PhD from Trinity College University of Dublin, Ireland, in Yeast Cell Cycle and Genetics. Following postdoctoral work at The Waksman Institute of Microbiology (Rutgers University, NJ, USA) and The Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (Cornell University, NY, USA) working on Yeast Mating loci and Plant Microbe Interaction respectively, he moved to University of Belfield, Germany to continue working on Plant Microbe Interaction. He then relocated to Melbourne, Australia, to work with CSIRO in the divisions of Protein Chemistry / Bio Molecular Engineering for 11 plus years working on development of expression systems, sub-unit vaccines against infectious bursal disease virus, plant virus-decorated antigen presentation systems and protein trafficking. He then returned to Bangalore in 1996 to work in VMSRF, NCBS and Astra-Zeneca. In 1999, he joined Monsanto Research Center, an R & D unit of the Agriculture Biotechnology Company Monsanto, USA, to initiate and lead Genome Knowledge Enhancement Program. He then worked as the director of MRC for over 5 years before leaving to become a consultant in Biotechnology for 6 months.
	Mr. Pierre Socha Senior Vice President Corporate Strategy & Planning Pierre joined Avesthagen in 2002 and is responsible for Corporate Strategy and Planning since 2005. His role covers corporate finance, investor relations, global alliances, M&As, strategy development and implementation, change and risk management. Over the years Pierre held the following positions at Avesthagen: CEO, BioNutrition Division (2008-2010), Director Business Development EMEA (2004-2008) and Manager Business Development, Biomarkers & Diagnostics (2002-2004). Prior to joining us, he worked as financial engineer for KPMG and Natexis Banques Populaires and as a research fellow at GREQAM-CNRS, France where he focused on econometrics and game theory in the green economy. Pierre is currently a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) candidate and holds Masters (Hons) in Finance and in Environmental Economics from the Universities of Strasbourg, France and of Aix-Marseille, France respectively.
	Dr. Anil Ram Chauhan Senior Vice President Operations Dr. Anil Ram Chauhan is a gold medalist from HPU and earned his Ph.D. in Genetics from College of Basic Sciences (PAU) and a MBA in International Business from Baruch College , New York. In 1984, he topped the Indian Agri. Scientists Recruitment Board in Plant Breeding. He has worked as Vice President (Marketing) in Indo-American Hybrid Seeds and as Business Head in Deepak Agro Solutions Limited and Emergent Genetics India Private Limited.
	Dr. Sami N Guzder Chief Scientific Officer Science & Innovation Sami N. Guzder obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry and a M.Sc. in Biochemistry from University of Bombay. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Louisiana State University for research on the isolation and characterization of DNA repair proteins from Drosophila melanogaster. Postdoctoral research work at the University of Rochester, New York, focused on dissecting the molecular basis of DNA repair processes in yeast and human. As a Research Scientist at the Center for Molecular Science, University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston he continued his work in the area of DNA repair and transcription. At Avesthagen Dr. Guzder is Chief Scientist for the Science & Innovation division. Dr. Guzder is involved in the design and supervision of diverse R&D projects resulting in the development of molecular diagnostics for various diseases. Dr. Guzder is currently leading The AVESTAGENOME Project^TM, which is a population genomics and systems biology based study on the Parsi population to uncover the basis of longevity and discovery of novel biomarkers and drug targets for certain diseases.
	Dr. Renuka Jain Chief Scientific Officer bioNutrition Renuka Jain obtained her B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in Botany from Jiwaji University, Gwalior. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Botany from Jiwaji University, Gwalior for research on the regulation of petal senescence. Dr. Jain then spent 3 years at the Umea Plant Science centre, Sweden and another year at University of Missouri-Columbia, USA for her post-doctoral research. For the last two years, Dr. Jain has been heading the bioNutrition division and is involved in the supervision of various research and discovery projects for the development of novel plant bioactives for diabetes, cardiovascular health, calorie management, bone health.
	Dr. Ofir Moreno Senior Vice President, Business Development bioPharmaceuticals and Science & Innovation Dr. Moreno joined the company in November 2009. He is responsible for business development for Avesthagen’s bioPharmaceutical and Science & Innovation Business units. Dr. Moreno brings over 15 years of experience from the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He has worked for a variety of well-known companies, including Merck, Amgen, and Dendreon Corporation where he successfully negotiated and executed numerous business alliance agreements. He brings broad and extensive experience around intellectual property management, outsourcing, and technology licensing. Dr. Moreno holds a B.A. in chemistry and biology from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Harvard University.
	Mr. Manan Bhatt Senior Vice President External Relations Manan Bhatt has 27 years' rich experience in business development of Indo-European technology and investments having worked with MNCs such as IRI and ENI groups of Italy and BNP-Paribas of France. He also had 4yrs tenure with UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) as the Representative of India in France, for the promotion of Indo-French technology investments and business partnerships. He has a management degree in international economic relations from the prestigious 'Center for Higher Studies on Africa and Modern Asia' (CHEAM) in Paris, (1995-96). Since July 2003, Mr. Bhatt is working as senior vice president (external relations) with Avesthagen.