12:00 - 14:00
Check in to Courtyard by Marriott, Agra | Lunch & Registration
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
Similar to the earlier editions, this meeting will be divided into two parts.
The first part — the Young Investigators’ Meeting (YIM) will commence on 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 2025—the 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.
DAY 1: Young Investigators’ Meeting 2025
Moderator: Karishma S Kaushik, IndiaBioscience
Check in to Courtyard by Marriott, Agra | Lunch & Registration
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
Overview of the life sciences in India
Engaging communities, Enabling change
Karishma S Kaushik, Executive Director, IndiaBioscience
Welcome Note
L S Shashidhara, Board Member, IndiaBioscience
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
Seeing is believing: My journey in structural biology
Deepti Jain, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad
Working at the interface of two sciences: A chemical biologist's tale
Siddhesh Kamat, Institute of Science Education and Research Pune
Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
Cello'ing the biophysical tune of morphogenesis
Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria
YIM 2025 icebreaker session
Ankita Rathore, IndiaBioscience
YI poster session
Anise (outdoor)
Obstacles never end, and neither does my journey: Story of health research entrepreneurship in Nepal
Sameer Mani Dixit, Center for Molecular Dynamics, Nepal
Breakout session: Setting up and running a life science research group in India
Coordinator: Karthick Balasubramanian, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune
Dinner
MOMO Alfresco (Pool side)
Networking mixer (YIs + PDFs only)
Light refreshments
DAY 2: Young Investigators’ Meeting 2025
Moderator: Anil Kumar Challa, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE)
Breakfast at MoMo Cafe
MoMo Café
Journey of a chance mechanobiologist
Shamik Sen, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Funding for life science researchers in India
HFSP funding schemes for life science researchers in India
Rashna Bhandari, DBT-Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad
EMBO programmes and activities for life science researchers in India
Leonor Teles-Grilo Ruivo, The European Molecular Biology Organization, Germany
AvH funding schemes for life science researchers in India
Neelanjana Sengupta, Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (AvH senior fellow), IISER Kolkata
Funding schemes at the Department of Biotechnology for life science researchers in India
Sanjay Mishra, Department of Biotechnology, GoI, New Delhi
Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
Funding initiatives by Ignite for life scientists in India
Shravanti Rampalli, Ignite Life Science Foundation
Successfully applying for international grants and fellowships
Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria
Open Q/A with representatives from funding agencies
Lunch at Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom
Group photo
Dodge, Nudge, Push: Travails and triumphs of an ecologist
Ratna Ghosal, Ahmedabad University
Finding my fins: Navigating the waters of translational research with zebrafish
Aarti Sevilimedu, Dr. Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences, Hyderabad
Wah-Taj! Group visit to the Taj Mahal
Dinner
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
DAY 3: Young Investigators’ Meeting 2025
Moderator: Karthick Balasubramanian, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune
Breakfast
MoMo Café
Nutritional cues and mitochondrial protein synthesis: A rheostat model
Kaustuv Datta, University of Delhi
Broader engagement in the life sciences in India
Animal methods biases in publishing
Surat Parvatam, Humane World for Animals
Publishers perspective around scholarly publishing in the age of AI
Ajay Kumar Jha, American Chemical Society (India)
Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
The Power of Microbes: Engagement opportunities with ASM
Aditi Jain, American Society for Microbiology, India
Academia and industry partnerships between NBIC and life science research in India
Cait MacPhee, National Biofilms Innovation Centre, UK
Academic publishing in the life sciences
The evolving landscape of publishing ethics: An editor’s perspective
Rafal Marszalek, Springer Nature, UK
Open Research: Building bridges across disciplines and communities
Madhurima Kahali, Taylor & Francis
Group photo | Lunch
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
Preprints and open science in the life sciences research community in India
Binay Panda, Jawaharlal Nehru University & ASAPbio fellow
Going Wild: A Journey from Genomes to Forests
Isheng Jason Tsai, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Industry and Education footprint at YIM 2025
OLINK multiplex protein biomarkers analysis
Abhishek Chowdhury, Premas Life Sciences, New Delhi
Incubation and start-up ecosystems for life science researchers in India
Ramjee Pallela, AIC-CCMB, Hyderabad
High-speed super resolution microscopy platforms
KN Ganesh, Olympus/Evident
PDF Poster session | Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments
Anise (outdoor)
Blending research and teaching: towards a rewarding academic life
Sravanti Uppaluri, Azim Premji University
Career skills for YIs and PDFs
Grant writing in the life sciences in India
Madhankumar Anandkrishnan, Centre for Brain Research, IISc Bengaluru
Opportunities and challenges in graduate / PhD training in India
Moderator: Anil Kumar Challa (SNIoE) Panellists:
Kaustuv Datta (University of Delhi), Rashna Bhandari (CDFD), Ratna Ghosal, Ahemadabad University and Sanjeev Galande (SNIoE)
Closing remarks
Rashna Bhandari, IndiaBioscience Board Member
Mehfil-e-YIM: Spandan - Resonating with the rhythm of Kathak | Grand Ballroom (GBR)
Kathak and conversation with Richa Srivastava, from the prominent Lucknow Gharana of Kathak
Banquet Dinner
Anise restaurant
DAY 4: PDF Satellite Meeting
Moderator: Rohini Garg, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE)
Breakfast
MoMo Café
Introduction to the PDF Satellite Meeting
Roop Mallik, IndiaBioscience Board Member
Institutional Talks Session 1
Krishnaveni Mishra (University of Hyderabad), Rajiv Janardhanan (SRM Institute of Science & Technology), Rajiv Yeravdekar (Symbiosis International ‑Deemed University) and Sharmila Bapat (National Centre for Cell Science, Pune)
Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
PDF Talks Session 1
10 PDF talks — 5 mins each
PDF Poster session
Anise (outdoor)
Group photo | Lunch
Function area near Crystal Ballroom (CBR)
Institutional Talks Session 2
Maddika Subba Reddy (Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad), Prasanna Venkatraman (Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research, and Education in Cancer, Navi Mumbai), Santanu Bhattacharya (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati) and Uma Ramakrishnan (National Centre for Biological Sciences ‑TIFR Bengaluru)
PDF Talks Session 2
10 PDF talks — 5 mins each
Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
Institutional Talks Session 3
Bhupesh Taneja (CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi), Colin Jamora (Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Greater Noida), H.S Subramanya (Chanakya University, Bengaluru), Praveen Kumar Vemula (Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru), Swasti Raychaudhuri (CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad)
PDF Talks Session 3
10 PDF talks — 5 mins each
Ask Us Anything: Hiring and start-up funds in the life sciences in India
Live Interactions — PDFs + Institutional representatives
Free time for networking
Free time
Dinner
Lawn
DAY 5: PDF Satellite Meeting
Moderator: Ankita Rathore, IndiaBioscience
Breakfast
MoMo Café
Institutional Talks Session 4
Dipyaman Ganguly (Ashoka University, Sonipat), Rakesh Mishra (Tata Institute for Genetics and Society, Bengaluru), Roop Mallik (Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai) and Vivek Tanavde (Ahmedabad University)
Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
PDF Talks Session 4
10 PDF talks — 5 mins each
Ask Us Anything: Project administration and grants management in the life sciences in India
Live Interactions — PDFs + Institutional representatives
Closing remarks to the PDF Satellite Meeting
Roop Mallik, IndiaBioscience Board Member
Group photo | Lunch | Departure
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
End of PDF Satellite Meeting