The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali has named Professor Anil Kumar Tripathi of the School of Biotechnology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) as its new director. 

Disclosing more details, a press statement from BHU says that Prof Tripathi, a senior professor at the university’s Institute of Science, was appointed on a tenure of five years. The professor has teaching and research experience for nearly 40 years, the statement adds.

About Prof Tripathi 

According to BHU, the professor has been teaching at BHU since 1990. He has also served as a professor in the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) Gorakhpur University from 2002-2004. 

From February 2019 to January 2024, Prof Tripathi served as the Director of the Institute of Science at BHU. In addition to overseeing multiple research programmes, he has made a substantial contribution to the university in several administrative and academic roles during this tenure, the university says. 

In addition to being the recipient of multiple distinguished scholarships and honours, he has supervised 22 PhD theses. These include, among others, the  Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) Young Scientist Award by the Indian Science Congress, Bengaluru; the JC Bose National Fellowship; the Dr Rajendra Prasad Oration Award; the  Council of Scientific & Industrial Research )CSIR) Technology Award in Life Science; and the University Grants Commission (UGC) Career Award in Biotechnology. 

Additionally, he holds fellowships in several of the nation's top science academies, including the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), the Indian Academy of Science (IASc), Bengaluru, the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), and the National Academy of Sciences India (NASI), Allahabad. 

To his credit, Prof Tripathi has several papers in prestigious national and international research journals. He specialises in Synthetic Biology, Systems Biology, Functional Genomics, and Bacterial Genetics. 

From February 2014 to January 2019, he also held the position of Director of the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP). Prof Tripathi has been hailed by the university fraternity on his appointment as IISER Mohali's director, according to the press release.