Indian scientist with GERMANY's Highest Civilian Award Padmashri Prof. Hasnain. V INSPIRE Podcast #1

Dr. Abdulwasey Mohammed of VINSPIRE Research Center ( www dot vinspire dot org) invited Padmashri Prof. Seyed Ehtesham Hasnain to the VINSPIRE podcast and asked him about his journey from childhood to a world-renowned scientist. PROF. SEYED EHTESHAM HASNAIN DSc (h.c.), DMedSc (h.c.), ML, FAAM, FTWAS, FNA THE JOURNEY SO FAR   Professor Seyed E. Hasnain, Padma Shri is recipient of Germany’s Highest Civilian Award- The Order of Merit (Das Verdienstkreuz, 1.Klasse), (equivalent of India’s Bharat Ratna), and joined the league of outstanding personalities from various fields including Nobel laureate biologist Herman Muller, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and music conductor John Crosby.   He is internationally acclaimed for his work on DNA-fingerprinting and tuberculosis. Based on his work on Indian Basmati Rice DNA-fingerprinting, India won the case against Pakistan enabling continued export of Basmati to UK, preventing major economic loss to India. Subsequently, Ministry of Commerce, Govt of India (GoI) established CDFD-APEDA Basmati DNA Analysis Centre, where ALL basmati exports are certified. His work on the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, lead to major policy decisions in India and abroad, including the use of rifampicin as a surrogate marker globally for multi drug resistant TB (MDR-TB).   Former Visiting Scientist at NERC Inst of Virology, Oxford, UK, Hasnain is also an institution builder and policy maker. Recipient of Ph.D. (JNU-Delhi), D.Sc. (h.c.), D.Med.Sc (h.c.), he taught at Delhi University as a Lecturer (Permanent position) and left for Canada/USA (on Extra-Ordinary-Leave) for Post-Doctoral fellowships. He joined (1987) National Institute of Immunology (an autonomous Institute of DBT, Min of S&T, GoI; was invited (1999) as the first Director, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), another DBT Institute. CDFD became a gold standard for Forensic/Crime Investigations and High Courts/Supreme Court of India referred all high profile/political cases to CDFD. [00:00] Introduction [03:08] Early Life [09:04] Family Values [11:18] Youth Advice [13:20] Career Journey [20:06] Transforming UoH [24:04] Scientific Excellence [25:25] Education Critique [28:44] Basmati DNA Story [32:34] TB Research [40:48] Patents vs Publications [43:58] Global Recognition [46:12] Institution Building [52:15] AI in Biotech [56:21] Education Reform [58:42] Mentoring Scientists [01:04:02] Meeting James Watson [01:10:53] Final Message