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Dr. Villoo Morawala-Patell is the Founder and CMD of Avesthagen Limited, AGENOME LLC and The Avestagenome Project®. Dr.Villoo Morawala Patell is an innovator and an expert in international biotechnology development, academic and corporate leadership with a longstanding interest in global development leading to establishment of global networks and alliances with academia and industry. She is an experienced deal maker having raised capital from PE and strategic financing with firms and foundations globally. Dr. Villoo Patell is the recipient of many awards of international and national acclaim as a scientist and as an entrepreneur including the French National Order “L’officier du Merite”, ‘Karmaveer Puraskar’ award, “Parsi Entrepreneur par Excellence Award”, “Outstanding women entrepreneur of the year” awards and grants from the J.N. TATA and The Rockefeller Foundation. Her academic research experience spans research work at highly reputed institutions globally, including ICRISAT, IBNP-CNRS, Strasbourg, University of Ghent, NCBS-TIFR with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and a grant from the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR). 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 Agri-Biotechnology across the world.

Avesthagen Limited is built around the convergence of food, pharma, environment-adjusted agriculture, and population genomics, leading to predictive and preventive personalized healthcare driven by a systems biology approach to population genetics and food security.

Dr. Villoo Morawala Patell started her professional career at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at Hyderabad where she worked on the biochemistry of nitrogen fixation in legumes, standardizing a screening technique for drought tolerance amongst other projects. After ICRISAT, she proceeded to complete her PhD studies in Molecular Biology from University Louis Pasteur, IBMP-CNRS (Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), in Strasbourg, France, concentrating on fundamental aspects of the plant mitochondrial genome, with Prof. Jacques Henry Weil followed by postdoctoral work at VIB, University of Ghent, Belgium with Prof. Marc van Montagu. On her return to India, Dr. Patell established herself as an independent scientist and principal investigator working at the National Center for Biological Sciences–Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCBS-TIFR) with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and a grant from the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR). 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 Agri-Biotechnology across the world.

Has track record of Chair and CEO appointments in UK and overseas publicly listed, private companies, government departments including public private industry partnerships. Specialised in delivering transformational technologies across industry sector with particular expertise in Precision Medicine, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Environmental and Marine Insurance. Delivery in supportive legal structures for corporate governance, risk assessment and leadership in providing corporate certainty from complex and uncertain trading conditions using legal expertise. Successful fundraiser of development capital from internationally based investment communities and UK and European grant bodies.

Dr. Prakash Virkar held the position of Beverages R&D Programme Director, India/ S. Asia, in Hindustan Unilever Limited. His expertise lies in areas like Innovation Process Management, Foods Product & Process Development, Bioprocessing/Biotechnology and Technology Transfer. Dr. Prakash Virkar has published multiple patents and publications at international seminars and has spearheaded the commercial launches of a variety of food and beverage products & brands. Dr. Prakash Virkar is a graduate in Chemical Engineering from University of Mumbai and conducted his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge followed by a stint as a Post Doctoral Research Associate in University College London in the field of Protein Processsing.

Sanaya has a PhD in Molecular Microbiology from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, UK. Recipient of multiple scholarships from the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and the Bristol Myers-Squibb Scholarship for Biosciences at Pembroke College. Her research experience focused primarily on antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Sanaya is a graduate of Boston University with an MA in Biology specialising in the tryptophan pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana, and has also worked with the Boston University Marine Program at MBL in Woods Hole, USA on shark neurobiology and chemical sensing. In addition to a diverse research background her skill set lies in science outreach programs and creative branding for science related products and research.

Dr. Colwell is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland College Park and at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a Global Science Officer and Chairman emeritus at Canon U.S. Life Sciences, Inc., and founder and chairman at CosmosID, Inc. Dr.Colwell is recognized for her significant, life-saving contributions in the areas of global infectious diseases, water, and health and served as the 11th Director of the National Science Foundation, 1998-2004. Dr.Colwell has held many advisory positions in the U.S. Government, non-profit science policy organizations, and private foundations, as well as in the international scientific research community.

Dr. Mayor is the Director and Head of Cellular Organization and Signalling Group at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore. At NCBS, Dr. Mayor has taken a multidisciplinary approach combining cell biology with physics and chemistry to study the organization and endocytic trafficking of membrane lipids, transmembrane and lipid-anchored proteins in membranes of living cells. The trajectory of his work has led him to explore the fine structure of the plasma membrane, combining ideas from soft-matter and membrane biophysics. Dr. Mayor serves on the editorial boards of several international journals and on the scientific board of a number of companies in the Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering fields. Dr. Mayor has received many awards and accolades including the distinguished Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite (National Order of Merit) in recognition of his extensive efforts in supporting Indo-French scientific collaborations, Infosys Prize for Life Sciences (2012), TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences) and other honors of international and national repute. Dr. Mayor has been nominated to the Council of the American Society of Cell Biology.

Dr. Bowler is the CNRS Director of Research at the Institut de Biologie del’Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. Using genomics approaches, he studies the biology of plants and a group of marine phytoplankton known as diatoms. He is the scientific coordinator of the Tara Oceans expedition, which is analysing plankton in the global ocean using high-throughput DNA sequencing and cellular imaging approaches. Dr. Bowler completed his PhD at the Ghent University, in Belgium, followed by postdoctoral studies at the Rockefeller University, in New York. In 1994, he established his own research group working on higher plants and marine diatoms at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, in Naples, Italy, and in 2002, he took up his current position in Paris. He has been an EMBO member since 1995 and was the recipient of a CNRS Silver Medal in 2010, an ERC Advanced Grant in 2011, and a Fondation Louis D. Grand Prix from the Institut de France in 2015.

Dr. Majumdar is a Distinguished Professor. Ex-Director, National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, India, having specialised interest in Biostatistics, Human Genetics and Population Genetics. Dr.Majumder has made significant contributions to human genetics and evolution using statistical, molecular genetic and anthropological methods. He has devised innovative paradigms and statistical methods for solving biological problems related to modes of inheritance of complex human traits and mapping genes underlying such traits. His work on genetic diversity of ethnic Indian populations has resulted in a clear reconstruction of the processes of peopling of the Indian subcontinent, which have had major impacts on the design of studies for mapping disease genes. Dr. Majumder is a founding member of the International Genetic Epidemiology Society and was the Founding Chair of its ethical, legal and social issues committee. He has served on committees of the UNESCO for drafting guidelines and declarations pertaining to the human genome and human genetics. Prof. Majumder has served on the Executive Committee of the International Human Genome Diversity Programme, and on many national committees. He is a Member of the Human Genome Organization and Member, INSA Council (2006-08).

Dr. Polosa is the Full Professor of Internal Medicine and specialist of Respiratory Diseases and Clinical Immunology at the University of Catania as well as the Founder and Clinical Director of the Center for Tobacco Research and Scientific Director of the Center of Excellence for the acceleration of HArm Reduction (CoEHAR) at the same University a scientific advisor for the Italian Anti-Smoking League, and a special scientific advisor for the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations (INNCO). Prof. Polosa also serves as a special scientific advisor to the International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organizations (INNCO).

John has a track record of Chair and CEO appointments in UK and overseas publicly listed, private companies, government departments including public private industry partnerships. Specialised in delivering transformational technologies across industry sector with particular expertise in Precision Medicine, Life Sciences, Healthcare, Environmental and Marine Insurance. Delivery in supportive legal structures for corporate governance, risk assessment and leadership in providing corporate certainty from complex and uncertain trading conditions using legal expertise. Successful fundraiser of development capital from internationally based investment communities and UK and European grant bodies.

Dr. Chellappa has been a part of various international Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics initiatives like MDS Proteomics, Genome Canada and the European Bioinformatics Institute. Dr. Chellappa also serves as the CEO of two companies, Genomatics and Kovai Biosciences. Dr. Chellappa has received his Ph.D. from the University of Madras. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at South African National Bioinformatics Institute.

Dr Sudha Narayana Rao holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai. She has completed her Post-doctoral research in Neurobiology at the Medical Center in Cornell University, New York and subsequently worked as consultant Neurobiologist for QBI Enterprises, Israel. She has to her credit several publications in peer-reviewed journals. Dr.Sudha Rao has over two decades of experience as a researcher and entrepreneur, having co-founded one of India’s oldest genomics firm, Genotypic Technologies in the late 90’s. Her endeavour in setting up a world-class organisation in Genotypic bore fruit when for the first time, a genomics company was awarded the SAP ACE 2010 award for Customer Excellence and Best Run Business for having the foresight to leverage software as a service model to support rapid growth

Dr. Naveen has held several senior management positions as the Genomics Head at Avesthagen, Project Lead at Syngenta and a Director at Genomatics Limited, India. Dr. Naveen Sharma received his M.Sc from the University of Mysore and his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Indian Rice Research Institute.

Mr. Sarath is a MBA graduate from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and an engineering graduate from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Sarath has worked as a Strategist for the Investment Management division of Goldman Sachs, and as a part of the senior management of various technology startups and businesses

An MBA graduate from Osmania University and a member of The Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Kavitha has worked as Company Secretary for telecom and textile industry.

Karan Dubey has a Bachelors in Science (Integrated Biology) from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore. His role at Avesthagen encompasses work flows across the organisation relating to operations, corporate affairs and business development. His skill set extends to image branding, customer relations and sales and marketing.

Experienced M.Sc. Lifescience professional with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry. Skilled in Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Genomics, Corporate and Business Development.

Experienced financial professional with 20 years of national and international experience. Proficient in taxation knowledge, fund management for operational and capital investment requirements, monitoring and analyzing accounting data, financial reports, providing comprehensive support in accordance with company policies and procedures on Budgeting/Forecasting.

Senior Principal Scientist and Group Leader at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad with research interests in origin of modern human, cardiovascular diseases, mitochondrial disorders, male infertility, sex determination, forensic genetics and Genetic basis of Ayurveda prakritis. Also elected Fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Biological Sciences, AP Academy of Science, and elected member of Guha Research Conference

Senior Principal Scientist and Group Leader at the National Center of Biological Sciences, Bangalore. Her current area of research is in structure and function comparison of protein domain superfamilies that can be of value in predicting the functions of sequences available in genome databases. She has compiled databases of structurally aligned proteins grouped into superfamilies which permits identification of potential members in whole genome searches, analysis of the distribution of specific folds and families and for cross-genome comparisons. She was awarded National Award for Women Bioscientists under the young category for the year 2006 is conferred for her significant contribution for the development of sensitive tools for accurate structure and function of proteins. She has also received the International Senior Research Fellowship of the Wellcome Trust, UK. Dr. Sowdhamini has published original papers and review articles in national and international journals. She is an honorary fellow of Birkbeck College, London. Dr. Sowdhamini received a Ph.D in Molecular Biophysics from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and a post doctoral stint at Professor Sir Tom Blundell’s laboratory, initially at Birkbeck College, London and later at the University of Cambridge( funded by Imperial Cancer Research Fund). She has a Masters degree in General Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Genomics service provider in India providing Microarray, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Bioinformatics services and solutions to domestic / international pharma, biotech companies and academia viz., protocol optimization, probe designing, array layouts, project designing, and nucleic acid analysis to in-depth analysis.

An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Clinical Research Company catering to business solutions for Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals, Herbs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices industries. Offers Clinical Research Services comprising of Medical Writing, Clinical Data Management, Site Management, Biostatistical and Regulatory Services.

A premier research organization in frontier areas of modern biology, conducting high quality basic research and training in frontier and multi-disciplinary areas of modern biology. Promoting centralized national facilities for new and modern techniques in the inter-disciplinary areas of biology.

A research institution conducting and promoting cutting edge research in bio-medical genomics for better understanding of public health need. Building capacity in biomedical genomics and enabling Genomic Medicine.

An autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology dedicated to research in the area of stem cells and regeneration in the context of development and disease addressing complex problems in areas of cell-differentiation and tissue regeneration using human pluripotent cells, examines clinical manifestations of diseases that can potentially be treated by stem cells, models human diseases using stem cells, uses model organisms to address fundamental questions in regenerative biology, develops platforms to interrogate signalling pathways with new chemical entities, and finally, develops tools that will help to better understand the biology driving stem cells and eventually treat disease states.

Initiated by UNESCO, New Delhi, the “PARZOR Project” (Parsi – Zoroastrian Project) entitled “Preservation of Parsi Zoroastrian Heritage – Campaigns and International Conventions”, intends to generate an awareness of this miniscule minority and create a revival of interest within the community, country and the world. Provides help and information to scholars, the media, publishers and those interested in world culture.

An Indian autonomous institute governed by eminent representatives from academia, industry and government and advised by eminent Indian scientists. Provides high-quality opportunities for students to acquire an interdisciplinary education; for scientists to conduct basic or translational research; and for entrepreneurs to grow a start-up

A research centre part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research that conducts research on diverse fields of biology including Biochemistry, Biophysics, Bioinformatics, Neurobiology, Cellular Organization and Signalling, Genetics and Developemnt, Theory and modelling of Biological Systems, Ecology and evolution.