Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, celebrated biotechnologist and Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, visited IISER Pune on June 11, 2026, for a special event titled “Bridging Science and Enterprise”. Her address blended scientific rigour with entrepreneurial vision and called upon young researchers to become solution creators for society.
The event, held at the CV Raman Auditorium in the Lecture Hall Complex, drew an audience of around 200 attendees, including IISER faculty, students, research scholars, and invited external stakeholders—scientists and scholars from neighbouring academic institutions as well as representatives from industry partners in the biotech and pharma sectors.
Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw’s visit began with a poster presentation session where select IISER Pune faculty members presented their work in the areas of biologics, biosimilars, monoclonal antibodies and conjugated recombinant proteins, translational research benefiting therapy areas of oncology, immunology, diabetes, eye health and bone health. The session offered a platform for the invited guests to engage with IISER Pune researchers, learn about ongoing projects, and exchange ideas.
Poster highlights included:
- Prof. Kundan Sengupta’s work on ‘Low cost prognostication and impact of chemotherapeutic agents on cancer cells’.
- Prof. Siddhesh Kamat’s research on ‘Lipids: Signaling Roles in Mammalian Physiology and Disease’.
- Dr. Britto Sandanaraj’s work on ‘Indigenous chemical technologies enable the development of Next Generation Antibody Drug Conjugates’.
- Dr. Jeetendra Chugh’s research on ‘Differentiating Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in mouse models using NMR-derived signatures: Application to a clinical cohort’.
- Dr. Krishnapal Karmodiya’s group working on ‘Next Generation Sequencing Based Genomic Surveillance and Diagnostics’.
- Prof. Nagaraj Balasubramanian’s focus on Cell Matrix Adhesion - How Cells interpret their microenvironment.
- Prof. Saikrishnan Kayarat’s research ‘Developing Technologies for Next Generation Sequencing’
- IISER Pune’s open-access national facilities, including the BSL-3/ABSL-3 labs, whole animal imaging, and advanced microscopy centres.
Following the poster session, the gathering moved to the CV Raman Auditorium, where Prof. Sunil Bhagwat, Director, IISER Pune delivered a welcome address and provided an overview of IISER Pune’s research ecosystem. In his address Prof. Bhagwat said “We are honoured to host Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, whose career exemplifies the very bridge we wish to build at IISER Pune—between fundamental biological discovery and its translation into accessible healthcare solutions. Events like these, with active participation from our industry partners and neighbouring research institutions, strengthen our innovation ecosystem”.
In her talk, Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw said “India has the scientific talent, the ideas, and the ambition to lead in global innovation. What we must now build are the systems that can carry basic science forward, from discovery to real-world impact. Institutions like IISER Pune can play a critical role in anchoring this link between fundamental research and application to deliver meaningful societal impact at scale”.
The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Krishanpal Karmodiya, Associate Professor and Associate Dean (International Relations and Outreach - Industry Initiatives). He thanked the participants from academia and industry for strengthening the dialogue between discovery and delivery.