Encouraging Bright Young Researchers
To encourage bright young faculty members and incentivize outstanding researchers to join IISc as faculty members, the Institute plans to establish several named Young Investigator positions.
The first of these, called the “R. I. Mazumdar Young Investigator” position was established with a generous contribution made by Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director, Biocon Limited. This endowment fund will be used to support cutting-edge research in Bioengineering and related areas by bright young faculty members currently at or recruited in the future by IISc.
I am delighted to support IISc through the ‘R. I. Mazumdar Young Investigator’ Endowment fund, dedicated to my late father, R. I. Mazumdar, who was instrumental in putting me on the path of innovation and had inculcated a strong sense of social conscience in me. I congratulate Dr. Siddharth Jhunjhunwala, who will be the first recipient of this scholarship. Through this fund, I hope to encourage young scientists to focus on cutting-edge science for innovation in the area of bioengineering and material sciences that can address unmet medical needs. I believe private funding can play a critical role in strengthening the innovation ecosystem in our country.
“It is an honor to be chosen as the first awardee,” said Dr. Siddharth Jhunjhunwala, Assistant Professor, Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering at IISc. His research focuses on a cross-disciplinary effort combining elements from drug delivery and materials science, to study and engineer the immune system. “I am grateful for the support extended, as it will enable us to expand our ongoing work on developing tools to modulate immune responses.”
In recent years, IISc has consistently maintained its position as the #1 Indian institution in world university rankings. Establishing such prestigious Young Investigator positions is part of the Institute’s long-term vision to reach the top 50 universities in global rankings. Each of these endowed positions can be named after the individual contributor/organization and will be associated with them for perpetuity.