Partha Majumder

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

July 1, 2020   - Present           

National Science Chair

Science & Engineering Research Board, Government of India

November 1, 2016 - Present   

Distinguished Professor 

National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani

September 1, 2018 - Present 

Emeritus Professor

Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata

January 10, 2016 - Present     

Hony, Scientific Director

Liver Foundation West Bengal

March 4, 2010 –  Sept 30, 2016     

Director (Founding Director)

National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani

May 7, 2004 - Sept. 30, 2017         

Professor and Head (May7, 2004-March 3, 2010)

Human Genetics Unit

Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta

September 29,2016 - Present 

Adjunct Professor

Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad

12/2009- 2015         

Professor

Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Kolkata

12/2007-11/2014     

Honorary Professor 

Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research

Bangalore

June 1, 1991 to May 6, 2004           

Professor & Head (from October 5, 1999 to May 6, 2004)

Anthropology &  Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta

         

2001 – 2011             

Honorary Director

TCG-ISI Centre for Population Genomics, Calcutta 

June 1, 1987  to May 31, 1991           

Associate Professor

Anthropology & Human Genetics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta

1990 - 1996               

Genetics Consultant 

Center for Education  &  Drug Abuse Research, Western Psychiatric Institute  & Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A. 

1987 - 1989              

Visiting Assistant Professor of Human  Genetics and Biostatistics

Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh,U.S.A.           

July 29, 1983 to May 31, 1987            

Lecturer

Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta

1982 - 1983              

Research Instructor 

Center for Demographic  & Population Genetics, University of Texas, Houston, U.S.A. 

1980 - 1982              

Senior Research Associate 

Center for Demographic   &  Population Genetics, University of Texas, Houston, U.S.A.               

ACADEMIC RECORD

Doctor of Philosophy (Statistics). 1982. Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, India.

               Dissertation Title :  ABO Blood-Group Gene Frequencies on the Indian 
Sub-continent:  A Statistical Study of Patterns of Variation.  [Submitted in 1980]

Master of Statistics. 1975. Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, India. (Specialization: 
Applied Statistics & Data Analysis).

Bachelor of Statistics (Honours). 1974. Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, India.

AWARDS & HONOURS

2021: Appointed as Member of the Advisory Board of Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN)

2021: Barclay Memorial Medal, 2020, of The Asiatic Society.

2021: 3^rd M.K. Pal Memorial Lecture, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, March 20, 2021.

2021: 59^th ICMR-NICED Foundation Day Oration, National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases, February 18, 2021.

2021: 238^th Foundation Day Lecture of The Asiatic Society, Kolkata. 
January 15, 2021.

2020: Selected as National Science Chair (Scientific Excellence), SERB, Government of India

2020: Sir Prafulla Chandra Ray Memorial Medal, University of Calcutta.

2019: D.Sc. (Honoris causa), Burdwan University.

2018: Golden Jubilee Commemoration Medal (Animal Sciences), 2018. Indian National Science Academy.

2018: First Archana Sharma and Arun Kumar Sharma Memorial Oration, Archana Sharma Foundation, Kolkata

2017: Lifetime Achievement Award 2017, SciGenom Research Foundation, Bangalore

2017: Dr. Rustam D Ranji Rotary Award and Lecture, Rotary Club of Hyderabad Dist 3150.

2016: 2^nd S.S. Agarwal Oration Award,
Indian Society of Cancer Genetics.

2015:  5^th G.K. Manna Memorial Lecture-Award,
17^th All-India Congress of Cytology and Genetics, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, 22 December 2015.

2015: Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray Memorial Award,
Institute of Pulmocare & Research, Kolkata.

2015: J.C. Bose National Fellowship

2015: Re-Elected Member of Council, Human Genome Organisation (HUGO)

2014: Lifetime Achievement Award, Society of Biotechnologists’s
 M.V. Pylee Lifetime Achievement Award for Original Contributions to Biotechnology

2014: Elected Member,
International Statistical Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands

2014: Centenary Medal for Excellence,
School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata

2012:  Elected Member of Council, Human Genome Organisation (HUGO)

2011: Elected Member, TWAS: The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, Trieste

2010: Elected Fellow, West Bengal Academy of Science & Technology

2009: TWAS Prize in Biology, The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, Trieste, Italy.

2006: Elected Fellow, The National Academy of Sciences, India

2002: G.D. Birla Award for Scientific Research,
Shri K.K. Birla Foundation, New Delhi & Kolkata.

2001: Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award in Biotechnology,
Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Foundation, New Delhi

2000: Elected Fellow, Indian National Science Academy

2000: Ranbaxy Research Award in Applied Medical Sciences ,
Ranbaxy Science Foundation, New Delhi

2000: New Millennium Science Medal awarded by the Indian Science Congress Association and the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India (Gold Medal)

2000: G.S. Randhawa Oration Award - 1999
 of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (awarded in 2000)

2000: Elected Member, Human Genome Organization (HUGO)

1998: Elected Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences

ORATION/PUBLIC LECTURE

Henry Shaw Oration, Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre & Research Institute, Kolkata, 22^nd February 2020.

Mahendra Lal Sircar Memorial Endowment Lecture, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 14^th December 2018.

‘Meet the Scientist’ Lecture, West Bengal State Student-Youth Science Fair, 30^th January 2018, Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata.

Foundation Day Lecture of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 28^th December 2017, Pune. [https://www.youtube.com/user/IUCAASciPOP/live]

Rajasekhara Reddy Endowment Lecture of the Operational Research Society of India, 23^rd December 2017, Kolkata.

Presidency University Bicentenary Celebrations Lecture “The Walls of Classrooms are Developing Cracks: The Future Appears Bright.”
9^th January 2017, Kolkata.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ7SDbgnnBw]

Air Vice Marshal V. Krishnaswamy Memorial Oration, Madhuram Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children, Chennai, 17^th November 2016.

Sudhindranath Mukherjee Memorial Oration, Indian Association of Cancer Research, 16 June 2016.

B. Ramamurthy Memorial Lecture, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, 29 January 2016.

D.M. Bose Memorial Lecture, Bose Institute, Kolkata, 26 November 2015.

Igniting Innovations in Young Minds Lecture, Pulmocon-2015, Institute of Pulmocare & Research, Kolkata, 10 October 2015.

Foundation Day Lecture, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram,

18 November 2014

Public Lecture, Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Mohali, 29 October 2014

Centenary Lecture, School of Tropical Medicine, 27 March 2014

Golden Jubilee Lecture, Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, 27 December 2013.

First D.K. Sen Memorial Lecture, Indian Anthropological Society, Kolkata, September 13, 2013.

20^thFoundation Day Oration, Society for Advancement of Human Development & Research, Kolkata, July 21, 2013,

First Aloke K. Ghosh Memorial Lecture, Department of Anthropology, University of Calcutta, June 5, 2013.

B. Mukherji Oration, Indian Pharmacological Society, Kolkata, February 23, 2013

Third Dr. Basu Kumar Bagchi Memorial Lecture, Geeta Palace, Shantipur, West Bengal, January 14, 2013.

Golden Jubilee Lecture of the Indian International Centre,
New Delhi. December 1, 2012.

[http://www.iicdelhi.in/webcasts/play_webcast/unity-and-diversity-of-india---a-genomic-reconstruction-from-ancestral-footfalls/]

B.N. Chopra Memorial Lecture, School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, February 24, 2012.

First Foundation Day Plenary Lecture, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, Bangalore, November 18, 2011

Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis Memorial Lecture, Department of Science & Technology, Government of West Bengal, February 28, 2011

J.C. Ray Oration, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, April 2, 2011.

L.D. Sanghvi Oration Award, Indian Society of Human Genetics, February 16, 2011.

West Bengal Academy of Science & Technology Annual Oration, December 27, 2010

Professor S.K. Bhattachaya Oration Award, Indian Society of Medical Statistics, November 2010.

Golden Jubilee Lectures, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, 12-13 April 2010

Professor S.P. Ray-Chaudhuri Memorial Lecture, S.P. Ray-Chaudhuri Foundation, Benaras Hindu University, 2 March 2009.

Dr. Gour Gopal Das Memorial Oration of the Indian Physical Society, 28 March 2008, Bose Institute, Kolkata.

India Foundation Day Lecture, 20 February 2008, “The Indian Identity in Science”, Kolkata.

Foundation Day Oration, 11 February 2008, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar.

V. Ramalingaswami Memorial Lecture, 30 July 2007, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore.

The 3^rd Jyotirmoy Das Memorial Lecture, 2006,XXIX All India Cell Biology Conference, Lucknow.

National Science Day Lecture, 28 February 2006, National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR), Pune.

The 8^th Manasi Ram Memorial Lecture, 23 November 2005, Miranda House, University of Delhi.

The 2^nd C.C. Li Memorial Lecture of the University of Pittsburgh, entitled “Our Footprints in the Sands of Time: A Statistical-Genetic Traceback”, 29 April 2005, Pittsburgh, U.S.A.

Dimensions of Science Lecture entitled “Tribes, Castes and Genes”, India International Centre, New Delhi, 16 July 2004.

Shri J.N. Bose Memorial Oration entitled “Genetics and the Practice of Medicine – Great Expectations”, R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital’s Foundation Day, 5 July 2004, Kolkata.

Institute Lecture – 2003, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

UNESCO Lecture in celebration of the 10^th Anniversary of the IBC and the 50^th Anniversary of the Discovery of DNA Structure entitled “Our Place in the Genomic Universe”, 14 May 2003, Paris.

Bireswar Chakraborty Memorial Oration – 2003, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad

CSIR Foundation Day Lecture - 2001, Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh.

U.S. National Institutes of Health “Stigma & Global Health” Lecture, 6 September 2001, Washington D.C.

NCBS-CSCS ‘Through the Lens of Life Sciences’ Public Lecture entitled 'Human Footprints in the Sands of Time: A Genetic Reconstruction with Special Reference to India'. Bangalore, 20 April 2001

Foundation Day Lecture - 2000, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi.

Foundation Day Lecture - 2000, Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training (Eastern India), Calcutta.

Platinum Jubilee Lecture, Anthropology & Archaeology Section, Indian Science Congress, 2000, Pune, entitled
Anthropology and Genomics: The Landscape of this Interface.

Special Lecture, Sixty-sixth mid-year Meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore

Lt. Col. Upendranath Mukerjee Oration 1999 of the Federation Hall Society, Calcutta, entitled
Human Genome Studies: Some Ethical Issues and Dilemmas.

Platinum Jubilee Lecture, Statistics Section, Indian Science Congress, 1998, Hyderabad, entitled
Some Statistical Methods and Applications in Human Genetics.

INTERVIEWS AND TALKS

On June 24, 2017, Professor Partha Majumder  has participated in a hour-long discussion on “The Kith and Kin” (#TKAK) 
with Professor Raghavendra Gadagkar of IISc and Professor Deepak Mehta of Shiv Nader University. 
The discussion is available for free-listening on

https://syntalk.wordpress.com/episodes/turn-three/tkak/
 (website link)

https://goo.gl/BkxaBH
 (short link, SoundCloud).

Genes and Probabilities :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiDbzevzQdE

Infectious Disease – Tuberculosis:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mxkGDMgZzM

Eureka:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mxkGDMgZzM

An Overview of Our Second Genome:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN5IPBB5P6o

Mint Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-s5pTNbWLE

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION

2019: President, Indian Academy of Sciences

2017: Vice-President,
All India Congress of Cytology & Genetics

2017: Member, Organizing Committee, International
Human Cell Atlas Project

2017: President, West Bengal Academy of Science & Technology.

Council Member (2016-2018) Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore.

Co-Chair (2014-2015) Regulatory and Ethics Working Group, Global Alliance for Global Health

Council Member (2012-2014), Human Genome Organisation (HUGO); Re-elected on the Council for the period 2015-2017.

Member (2012-2013), Global Agenda Council on Genetics, World Economic Forum

Council Member (2006-2008), Indian National Science Academy

Elected Member (2000-2002), Board of Directors, International Genetic Epidemiology Society

Elected Chair (2000-2002), ELSI Committee, International Genetic Epidemiology Society

Member (1998-2006), National Bioethics Committee (India)

Elected Member of Executive Committee (1993 -1998), International 
Human  Genome Diversity

 Project of the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO)

Elected Member of Governing Council (1993 - 1996),  Indian 
Society  of  Human Genetics

Elected Member of Executive Committee (1992 - 1994), International Biometric Society

       (Indian Region)

Invited Organizer of a "State-of-the-Art" Session on "Genetic Polymorphisms" in the International   
      

       Congress of Human Genetics, Rio de Janeiro, 1996.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Editorial Boards

Genome Biology and Evolution (2014-2017)

Human Genetics (2013-2015)

BMC Genetics (2012- )

Journal of Biosciences (2012- )

Annals of Human Genetics [London] (2008-2013)

Genome Research [Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory,USA] (2008-2012 )

Sankhya - The Indian Journal of Statistics [Calcutta] (2000-2002)

Genetic Epidemiology [International Genetic Epidemiology Society, USA] (1997-2001)

Human Biology [USA] (1995 - 1997)

Journal of Human Ecology [India] (1994 - 2004)

Indian Journal of Human Genetics [Indian Society of Human Genetics] (1995 - 2015)

Journal of Genetics (1996 - )

Annals of Human Biology [U.K.] (2001-2007)

Anthropological Science [Japan] (2000- )

Journal of Biosciences [Indian Academy of Sciences] (2006- )

Resonance [Indian Academy of Sciences] (1995 -1996)

Service to National Organizations

Rendered service to the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Indian National Science Academy, various agencies of the Government of India, particularly Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science & Technology, Indian Council of Medical Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research and to various Universities and Institutes, as member of Task Forces, Monitoring Committees and Review Boards, Scientific Advisory Committes, and Committees for the promotion of international co-operation in science.

Service to International Organizations

Representative of the Government of India, Department of Biotechnology on
Global Alliance for Global Health, 2014.

Co-Chair, Regulatory and Ethics Working Group, Global Alliance for Global Health,
2014.

National Co-ordinator, International Cancer Genome Consortium, 2010.

British (U.K.) Parliament: Served as an Expert Commentator on organization of genomics activities in the U.K., 1999

UNESCO: Served as a Genomics Expert on the Drafting Group of the
International Declaration on Human Genetic Data, 2002-2003.

International Genetic Epidemiology Society:  Chaired an Expert Group to resolve an international public debate arising from the use of measles vaccine among the Yanomama tribals of Brazil.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP

Founding Member, International Genetic Epidemiology Society

Life Member, Asia-Pacific Society of Human Genetics 

Life Member, Indian Society of Human Genetics

Life Member, Indian Society of Medical Statistics

Life Member, Indian Anthropological Society

Life Member, Association for the Promotion of DNA Fingerprinting & Other Technologies

Member, American Society of Human Genetics

Member, International Biometrics Society

(Honorary) Life Member, Society for Biotechnologists (India)

TEACHING & TRAINING

Engaged in teaching courses at various levels (undergraduate and graduate) at the Indian Statistical Institute, University of Texas, University of Pittsburgh, Calcutta University and elsewhere, for over three decades. 
Taught a wide range of courses, including Basic Statistical Methods, Probability, Multivariate Analysis, Epidemiology, Computer Programming, Human Genetics, Statistical Methods in Genetics, etc.

SUPERVISION OF Ph.D. WORK

Five students have received their Ph.D. degrees on human and statistical genetics: (1) Swapan K. Nath [presently a faculty member of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation]; (2) Saurabh Ghosh [presently a faculty member of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata], (3) Analabha Basu [presently a Fellow of the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kolkata], (4) Samir K. Sil [presently a faculty member of the Tripura University, Agartala], and (5) Sanjukta Mallik [has just been awarded the PhD degree; looking for a position]. 
Currently, supervising the work of four Ph.D. students.

EXTRA-MURAL RESEARCH FUNDING

Past Funding:  Received research funding from the American Heart Association; Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India; Indian Council of Medical Research; and, National Institutes of Health, USA. 
Successfully completed over 20 extramurally-funded research and training projects. 
Current Funding:

“Developing a Global Blueprint for Zero PCG: Towards a Complete Understanding of the Molecular Basis of Primary Congenital Glaucoma (PCG).” 
[Funded by Dept. of Biotechnology (under the India-Australia Biotechnology Programme), P.I.s: Partha Majumder and Luba Kalaydjieva]

International Center of Execellence in Malaria Research “Malaria Evolution in South Asia” [Funded by the National Institutes of Health, USA; Project Leaders: Pradip Rathod (University of Washington at Seattle), Partha Majumder and two other scientists from India]

“Immune Response Polymorphisms: Typhoid/Cholera Vaccines.” [Funded by the National Institutes of Health, USA; Project Leaders: Diane K. Wagener (RTI International, North Carolina) and Partha P. Majumder]

ORGANIZATION OF HUMAN GENETICS ACTIVITIES IN INDIA

 

Organized the International Conference on Human Population Genetics (in Celebration of the Birth Centenary of J.B.S. Haldane), Calcutta, 1992.

Organized training and hands-on workshops on human genetics on a sustained, nearly annual, basis, since 1996. 
The first workshop was funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India; subsequent workshops have been funded by the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, USA. 
Over the years, more than 500 research fellows and junior faculty members have been trained in these workshops.

Organized conferences on human genetics on behalf of the Human Genome Organisaton.

Established a private-public partnership institution on human genetics in 2001, called the TCG-ISI Centre for Population Genomics. 
This not-for-profit, DSIR recognized, institution is a collaboration between The Chatterjee Group and the Indian Statistical Institute, and has been conducting human genomic research funded by ICMR, DBT and the NIH, USA.