IIT Kanpur – Saroj Chandrasekhar Memorial Award,
Biosciences and Biotechnology
Applications are invited for the Prof. Saroj Chandrasekhar Memorial Award, 2025, to recognize and
reward women scientists in the areas of Biosciences and Biotechnology. This annual award will be
presented to women candidates who are in the third or fourth year of their doctoral programme.
Candidates who have submitted their Ph.D. thesis are also eligible to apply. Two awards will be given,
each carrying a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a certificate; travel expenses for the award ceremony will also
be reimbursed.
This award is instituted by the Chandrasekhar Foundation in memory of Prof. Saroj Chandrasekhar, who
made significant contributions in tuberculosis research. Prof. Saroj Chandrasekhar completed her B.Sc.
from St Xavier’s College, University of Bombay, in 1947, and Ph.D. from Imperial College of Science and
Technology, UK in Bacteriology (Microbiology) in 1950. She returned to India to do a post-doctoral
fellowship at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa Campus, New Delhi. Prof. Saroj joined the
Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute at the University of Delhi in 1953, eventually becoming a full professor,
head of the Department of Microbiology and Assistant Director of the Institute in 1970. From 1966 to
1969, she was a visiting faculty member at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Public Hygiene and
Public Health (now Bloomberg School of Public Health) in Baltimore, MD, USA, carrying out research in
the pathogenesis of tuberculosis. Her major contributions to tuberculosis research were in definitively
demonstrating the existence of cell-wall-deficient forms of tubercle bacilli that are totally unaffected by
antibiotics and can remain dormant in humans for decades, like sleeper cells; when their host is severely
immune-suppressed, they ‘come alive’ causing tuberculosis. Her contributions have impacted how we
treat this disease today. Prof. Chandrasekhar passed away in 2017.
The Award will be presented on National Technology Day (11 May 2025) at the IIT Kanpur campus.
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