icddr,b senior director receives India’s prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2016, PM Narendra Modi confers the award

Dhaka, 2 March 2019 - icddr,b’s Senior Director of the Laboratory Sciences and Services Division, Dr Niyaz Ahmed has received Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for 2016 by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India in the field of Medical Sciences. In an auspicious gathering held on February 28, 2019 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, India’s Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conferred the CSIR’s prestigious prizes for 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Dr Niyaz Ahmed’s outstanding contributions to the functional epidemiology of chronic pathogens such as entero-pathogenic bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis by successfully combining the rigours of genome inspired epidemiology and decipherment of bacterial virulence mechanisms has earned him this award.   

Upon receiving the award Dr Ahmed first expressed his deep gratitude to the University of Hyderabad (UoH), India and his fellow students at the department of biotechnology & bioinformatics, which he headed until October 2016. He has also expressed his gratitude to icddr,b and colleagues for supporting his continued work on these exciting areas of biomedical research. He said, “It is indeed a great honour to receive this prestigious award from the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and be joining the list of outstanding Indian scientists, who have previously been given this award for their often tremendous achievements in the field of Science and Technology. “

icddr,b’s Executive Director, Prof John D Clemens congratulated Dr Ahmed and said, “icddr,b is honoured that Dr Niyaz Ahmed has been recognized for the wonderful contribution he has made in the field of biomedical science. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

Named after the founder Director of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prizes are given annually to recognise outstanding Indian work in various disciplines of Science and Technology. The prize comprises a citation, a plaque, and a cash award of Rs 5 lakh. In addition, recipients also get Rs. 15,000 per month up to the age of 65 years.

The prize is the latest in a growing list of awards to icddr,b who received the Hilton Humanitarian Prize in 2017 and whose Executive Director recently won the 2018 Prince Mahidol Award.

 

TIK