5 Indian scientists in EMBO Global Investigator Network

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) has announced the selection of eleven life scientists as the newest members of the EMBO Global Investigator Network. Five of the eleven new EMBO Global Investigators are based in India and two of them are from the Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad.

Dr. Prem Kaushal and Dr. Rajender Motiani, both Associate Professors at RCB, have been selected for the EMBO Global Investigator Network. Kaushal’s research focuses on protein synthesis in pathogenic microbes, mycobacterium tuberculosis and entamoeba histolytica. Motiani’s research programme focuses on understanding the role of calcium driven inter-organelle crosstalk in skin pigmentation.

The EMBO Global Investigator Network supports young group leaders in Chile, India, Singapore, and Taiwan. The new global investigators will become part of an international network of nearly 800 current and former EMBO Global Investigators, Young Investigators and Installation Grantees, and will start in January 2025, said a press release by the Indian government.

“EMBO is excited to welcome the new EMBO Global Investigators. Their research highlights the universal language of discovery and provides diverse perspectives to tackle foundational research questions as well as global challenges. We are delighted to support these outstanding group leaders in forming connections with scientists in Europe and around the world,” said the EMBO Director, Prof. Fiona Watt.

The new EMBO Global Investigators receive financial support for four years for networking activities and collaborations with local scientists and those in Europe. The global investigators are funded, for example, to attend or organize scientific meetings, visit other research institutions or deliver seminar series. They also benefit from training opportunities, including EMBO lab leadership training courses, for themselves and their lab members.

“I am really excited to receive this prestigious fellowship from EMBO. I look forward to engaging and networking with some of the brightest life science researchers across the globe,” said Motiani on receiving the news of the award.

“I am grateful to EMBO for recognizing our research work. It will help establish international collaborations and bring new technologies to the Regional Centre for Biotechnology,” said Kaushal.

The RCB is an academic institution established by the Union Department of Biotechnology with regional and global partnerships synergizing with the programmes of UNESCO. The primary focus of RCB is to provide world-class education, training, and conduct innovative research at the interface of multiple disciplines to create high quality human resources in disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas of biotechnology in a globally competitive research milieu.

In 2016, the RCB was recognized as an Institution of National Importance by Parliament.