Programme

Similar to the earlier editions, this meeting will be divided into two parts. 

The first part — the Young Investigators’ Meeting (YIM) will commence in the afternoon of 03 March 2025. This will feature:

1. Mentor talks by scientists from India and abroad

2. Special talks on a range of topics

3. Round table discussions 

4. Breakout sessions

5. Poster sessions by YIs and PDFs

6. Special session on grant writing 

7. Icebreaker and Networking sessions 


The second part of YIM 2025the Postdoctoral Fellows (PDF) Satellite Meeting will start on 06 March 2025 for all postdoctoral attendees and directors/​Vice Chancellors/​institutional representatives of various institutions and universities. This will feature:

1. Institutional talks by Directors/​Vice Chancellors

2. Lightning talks by PDFs

3. Discussions on start-up funds, faculty fellowships, project and grants management in science in India

4. Networking sessions

5. Poster sessions by PDFs 


PDF participants are expected to stay for the complete duration of the meeting (YIM and PDF Satellite Meeting) from 03 – 07 March 2025, while YI participants are to attend the entire duration of the main YI meeting from 03 – 05 March 2025.


Note: The schedule below may undergo minor changes in the lead-up to YIM 2025.

03 March 2025

DAY 1: Young Investigators’ Meeting 2025 

Moderator: Karishma S Kaushik, IndiaBioscience

  • 12:00 - 14:00

    Check in to Courtyard by Marriott, Agra | Lunch & Registration

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • Overview of the life sciences in India


  • 14:00 - 14:10

    Engaging communities, enabling change

    Karishma S Kaushik, Executive Director, IndiaBioscience


  • 14:10 - 14:20

    Welcome Note

    L S Shashidhara, Board Member, IndiaBioscience


  • 14:20 - 14:50

    An overview of the life science research ecosystem in India

    Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, GoI, New Delhi


  • Building a life science research group


  • 14:50 - 15:20

    Working at the interface of two sciences: A chemical biologist's tale

    Siddhesh Kamat, Institute of Science Education and Research Pune


  • 15:20 - 15:50

    Seeing is believing: My journey in structural biology

    Deepti Jain, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad


  • 15:50 - 16:30

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 16:30 - 17:00

    From the study of cell division to building a positive research culture

    Julie Welburn, The University of Edinburgh, UK




  • 18:30 - 19:30

    Breakout session: Setting up and running a life science research group in India

    Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 19:30 - 20:45

    Dinner

    MOMO Alfresco (Pool side)


04 March 2025

DAY 2: Young Investigators’ Meeting 2025 

Moderator: Anil Kumar Challa, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE)

  • 6:30 - 9:30

    Breakfast at MoMo Cafe

    MoMo Café


  • 9:30 - 10:00

    Journey of a chance mechanobiologist

    Shamik Sen, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay


  • Funding for life science researchers in India


  • 10:00 - 10:20

    HFSP funding schemes for life science researchers in India

    Rashna Bhandari, DBT-Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad


  • 10:20 - 10:50

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 10:50 - 11:10

    EMBO programmes and activities for life science researchers in India

    Leonor Teles-Grilo Ruivo, The European Molecular Biology Organization, Germany


  • 11:10 - 11:30

    AvH funding schemes for life science researchers in India

    Neelanjana Sengupta, Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (AvH senior fellow), IISER Kolkata


  • 11:30 - 11:50

    Funding schemes at the Department of Biotechnology for life science researchers in India

    Sanjay Mishra, Department of Biotechnology, GoI, New Delhi


  • 11:50 - 12:10

    Funding schemes at India Alliance for life science researchers in India

    Apurva Sarin, DBT/ Wellcome Trust India Alliance


  • 12:10- 12:30

    DST-WISE fellowships for life scientists in India

    Vandana Singh, Department of Science and Technology


  • 12:30 - 12:40

    Funding initiatives by Ignite for life scientists in India

    Shravanti Rampalli, Ignite Life Science Foundation


  • 12:40-13:10

    Successfully applying for international grants and fellowships

    CP Heisenberg, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria



  • 14:00 - 14:30

    Dodge, Nudge, Push: Travails and triumphs of an ecologist

    Ratna Ghosal, Ahmedabad University


  • Academic publishing in the life sciences



  • 15:00 - 15:30

    AI tools in life science publishing

    Speaker TBC, Taylor & Francis


  • 15:30 - 16:00

    Group photo | Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 16:00 - 16:30

    Preprints and open science in the life sciences research community in India

    Binay Panda, Jawaharlal Nehru University & ASAPbio fellow


  • 16:30 - 17:00

    When Darwin meets Pasteur

    Isheng Jason Tsai, Academia Sinica, Taiwan



  • 19:30 onwards

    Dinner

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)

05 March 2025

DAY 3: Young Investigators’ Meeting 2025 

Moderator: Karthick Balasubramanian, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune

  • 6:30 - 9:00

    Breakfast

    MoMo Café


  • 9:00 - 9:30

    Nutritional cues and mitochondrial protein synthesis: A rheostat model

    Kaustuv Datta, University of Delhi


  • Broader engagement in the life sciences in India


  • 9:30 - 10:00

    Animal methods biases in publishing

    Surat Parvatam, Humane Society International


  • 10:00 - 10:30

    The evolving landscape of peer review: An editor’s perspective

    TBA


  • 10:30 - 11:00

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 11:00 - 11:30

    Engagement between ASM and life science research in India

    Aditi Jain, American Society for Microbiology, India


  • 11:30 - 12:00

    Academia and industry partnerships between NBIC and life science research in India

    Speaker TBC, National Biofims Innovation Centre (NBIC), UK



  • 13:15 - 14:00

    Group photo | Lunch

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 14:00 - 14:30

    Finding my fins: Navigating the waters of translational research with zebrafish

    Aarti Sevilimedu, Dr. Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences, Hyderabad


  • Industry and Education footprint at YIM 2025


  • 14:30 - 15:00

    OLINK multiplex protein biomarkers analysis

    Abhishek Chowdhury, Premas Life Sciences, New Delhi


  • 15:00 - 15:30

    Incubation and start-up ecosystems for life science researchers in India

    Madhusudhana Rao, AIC-CCMB, Hyderabad


  • 15:30 - 16:00

    High-speed super resolution microscopy platforms

    KN Ganesh, Olympus/​Evident


  • 16:00 - 16:30

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 16:30 - 17:00

    Obstacles never end, and neither does my journey: Story of health research entrepreneurship in Nepal

    Sameer Mani Dixit, Center for Molecular Dynamics, Nepal


  • 17:00 - 17:30

    Blending research and teaching: towards a rewarding academic life

    Sravanti Uppaluri, Azim Premji University


  • 17:30 - 18:30

    Grant writing in the life sciences in India

    Madhankumar Anandkrishnan, IISc Bangalore


  • 18:30 - 19:15

    Opportunities and challenges in graduate/ PhD training in India | Grand Ballroom

    Panelists: Rashna Bhandari (DBT-CDFD), Sanjeev Galande (SNIoE), TBC


  • 19:15 - 19:30

    Closing remarks

    Rashna Bhandari, IndiaBioscience Board Member


  • 19:30 onwards

    Banquet dinner | Mehfil-e-YIM

    MOMO Alfresco (Pool side)

06 March 2025

DAY 4: PDF Satellite Meeting

Moderator: Rohini Garg, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE)

  • 6:30 - 09:30

    Breakfast

    MoMo Café


  • 9:30 - 9:40

    Introduction to the PDF Satellite Meeting

    Roop Mallik, IndiaBioscience Board Member


  • 9:40 - 10:40

    Institutional Talks Session 1

    TBC


  • 10:40 - 11:10

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 11:10 - 12:00

    PDF Talks Session 1

    10 PDF talks — 5 mins each


  • 12:00 - 13:00

    Institutional Talks Session 2

    TBC


  • 13:00 - 14.00

    Group photo | Lunch

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 14:00 - 14:50

    PDF Talks Session 2

    10 PDF talks — 5 mins each


  • 14:50 - 15:50

    Institutional Talks Session 3

    TBC


  • 15:50 - 16:40

    PDF Talks Session 3

    10 PDF talks — 5 mins each



  • 18:00 - 19:00

    Ask Us Anything: Hiring and start-up funds in the life sciences in India

    Live Interactions — PDFs + Institutional representatives


  • 19:00 - 19:30

    Free time for networking

    Free time


  • 19:30 onwards

    Dinner

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


07 March 2025

DAY 5: PDF Satellite Meeting 

Moderator: Karishma S Kaushik, IndiaBioscience

  • 6:30 - 9:30

    Breakfast

    MoMo Café


  • 9:30 - 10:30

    Institutional Talks Session 4

    TBC


  • 10:30 - 11:00

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 11:00 - 11:50

    PDF Talks Session 4

    10 PDF talks — 5 mins each


  • 11:50 - 12:50

    Ask Us Anything: Project administration and grants management in the life sciences in India

    Live Interactions — PDFs + Institutional representatives


  • 12:50 - 13:05

    Closing remarks to the PDF Satellite Meeting

    Roop Mallik, IndiaBioscience Board Member


  • 13:05 - 14:00

    Group photo | Lunch | Departure

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 14:00

    End of PDF Satellite Meeting