Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale delivers lecture on Innovation in India at IMTECH

Chandigarh: Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale who is a Healthcare-Biotech Consultant visited CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) on 21st November and delivered a public lecture on “Innovation in India: Lessons from my personal experiences”. A renowned microbiologist by profession, Dr Vijay while addressing to researchers and students harped that drug discovery should be an art to discover the shortest possible route to assess whether the molecule works or research project has to be abandoned. He also highlighted several innovative and frugal ways while addressing difficulties in complex drug discovery and development processes; some of them were non-conventional and few were even ‘Indian Jugaad’.

Dr Chauthaiwale did his Ph.D. in Microbiology from University of Pune and has a Post-Doctoral experience in Cell and Molecular Biology. He has worked in Senior Management role in pharmaceutical research and development, his last role being Vice President (Discovery Research) in Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Speaking at the occasion and addressing members of Chandigarh Region for Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC) he said “Indian innovation scenario can be improved if researchers and research institutes are not averse to taking high risk high reward projects, ready to collaborate and ready to ask tough questions that challenge the existing premise”. During his one-on-one interaction with faculty and researchers of CRIKC institutions, he emphasized that Government of India has taken several steps to promote innovation in India, right from providing funds for translational research to setting up Atal Innovation Mission for fostering start-up ecosystem in the country.

Dr Chauthaiwale has nearly 17 years of experience in drug discovery and development in metabolic and cardiovascular disorders and has a keen interest in innovation, healthcare, and global affairs also took a tour of IMTECH’s fermentation and Microbial Type Culture Collection (MTCC) facilities.

During his visit, Dr Manoj Raje, Officiating Director CSIR-IMTECH gave a presentation on institutional activities which was followed by visit to various facilities of the institute and one-on-one interaction with faculty and researchers of other CRIKC institutions. Dr. Raje said, “The experiences shared by Dr. Chauthaiwale as a drug discovery scientist, manager, and leader of innovation ecosystem in India are highly valuable for the next generation students and researchers.”

CSIR-IMTECH is a national center for excellence in microbial sciences and was established in 1984. IMTECH’s vision is to discover and develop translational products and new drugs to address key unmet societal and medical needs.