Programme

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 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

    Seeing is believing: My journey in structural biology

    Deepti Jain, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad


  • 15:20 - 15:50

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

    Siddhesh Kamat, Institute of Science Education and Research Pune


  • 15:50 - 16:30

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 16:30 -17:00

    Cello'ing the biophysical tune of morphogenesis

    Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria




  • 18:30 - 19:00

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

    Sameer Mani Dixit, Center for Molecular Dynamics, Nepal


  • 19:00 - 20:00

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

    Coordinator: Karthick Balasubramanian, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune


  • 20:00 - 21:00

    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 - 8:30

    Breakfast at MoMo Cafe

    MoMo Café


  • 9:00 - 9:30

    Journey of a chance mechanobiologist

    Shamik Sen, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay


  • Funding for life science researchers in India


  • 9:30 - 9:55

    HFSP funding schemes for life science researchers in India

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


  • 9:55 - 10:20

    EMBO programmes and activities for life science researchers in India

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


  • 10:25 - 10:40

    AvH funding schemes for life science researchers in India

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


  • 10:40 - 11:00

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

    Sanjay Mishra, Department of Biotechnology, GoI, New Delhi


  • 11:00 - 11:30

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 11:30 - 11:55

    Funding initiatives by Ignite for life scientists in India

    Shravanti Rampalli, Ignite Life Science Foundation


  • 11:55-12:25

    Successfully applying for international grants and fellowships

    Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria


  • 12:25-13:00

    Open Q/A with representatives from funding agencies



  • 14:00 - 14:30

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

    Ratna Ghosal, Ahmedabad University


  • 14:30 - 15:00

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

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



  • 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 - 8:30

    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 World for Animals


  • 10:00 - 10:30

    Publishers perspective around scholarly publishing in the age of AI

    Ajay Kumar Jha, American Chemical Society (India)


  • 10:30 - 11:00

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 11:00 - 11:30

    The Power of Microbes: Engagement opportunities with ASM

    Aditi Jain, American Society for Microbiology, India


  • 11:30 - 12:00

    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


  • 12:00 - 12:30

    The evolving landscape of publishing ethics: An editor’s perspective

    Rafal Marszalek, Springer Nature, UK


  • 12:30 - 13:00

    Open Research: Building bridges across disciplines and communities

    Madhurima Kahali, Taylor & Francis



  • 14:00 - 14:30

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

    Binay Panda, Jawaharlal Nehru University & ASAPbio fellow


  • 14:30 - 15:00

    Going Wild: A Journey from Genomes to Forests

    Isheng Jason Tsai, Academia Sinica, Taiwan


  • Industry and Education footprint at YIM 2025


  • 15:00 - 15:20

    OLINK multiplex protein biomarkers analysis

    Abhishek Chowdhury, Premas Life Sciences, New Delhi


  • 15:20 - 15:40

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

    Ramjee Pallela, AIC-CCMB, Hyderabad


  • 15:40 - 16:00

    High-speed super resolution microscopy platforms

    KN Ganesh, Olympus/​Evident


  • 16:00 - 17:00

    PDF Poster session | Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Anise (outdoor)


  • 17:00 - 17:20

    Blending research and teaching: towards a rewarding academic life

    Sravanti Uppaluri, Azim Premji University


  • Career skills for YIs and PDFs


  • 17:20 - 18:20

    Grant writing in the life sciences in India

    Madhankumar Anandkrishnan, Centre for Brain Research, IISc Bengaluru


  • 18:20 - 19:00

    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)


  • 19:00 - 19:15

    Closing remarks

    Rashna Bhandari, IndiaBioscience Board Member


  • 19:15 - 20:00

    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


  • 20:00 onwards

    Banquet Dinner

    Anise restaurant

06 March 2025

DAY 4: PDF Satellite Meeting

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

  • 6:30 - 08:30

    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

    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)


  • 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



  • 13:00 - 14.00

    Group photo | Lunch

    Function area near Crystal Ballroom (CBR)


  • 14:00 - 15:00

    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)


  • 15:00 - 15:50

    PDF Talks Session 2

    10 PDF talks — 5 mins each


  • 15:50 - 16:20

    Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments

    Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)


  • 16:20 - 17:20

    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)


  • 17:20 - 18:10

    PDF Talks Session 3

    10 PDF talks — 5 mins each


  • 18:10 - 19:10

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

    Live Interactions — PDFs + Institutional representatives


  • 19:10 - 19:30

    Free time for networking

    Free time


  • 19:30 onwards

    Dinner

    Lawn

07 March 2025

DAY 5: PDF Satellite Meeting 

Moderator: Ankita Rathore, IndiaBioscience

  • 6:30 - 8:30

    Breakfast

    MoMo Café


  • 9:30 - 10:30

    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)


  • 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