12:00 - 14:00
Check in to Courtyard by Marriott, Agra | Lunch & Registration
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
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 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.
03 March 2025
DAY 1: Young Investigators’ Meeting 2025
Moderator: Karishma S Kaushik, IndiaBioscience
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
17:00 - 17:15
YIM 2025 icebreaker session
Ankita Rathore, IndiaBioscience
17:15 - 18:30
YI poster session
Anise
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)
20:45 - 21:30
Networking mixer (YIs + PDFs only)
Light refreshments
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
TBC
12:40 - 13:10
Open Q/A with all funding representatives
13:10 - 14:00
Group photo | Lunch at Anise
14:00 - 14:30
Dodge, Nudge, Push: Travails and triumphs of an ecologist
Ratna Ghosal, Ahmedabad University
Academic publishing in the life sciences
14:30 - 15:00
Publishing ethics
Speaker TBC, Springer Nature
15:00 - 15:30
AI tools in life science publishing
Speaker TBC, Taylor & Francis
15:30 - 16:00
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
17:00 onwards
Wah-Taj! Group visit to the Taj Mahal
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
Jayanta Haldar, ACS Infectious Disease, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Research (JNCASR), Bangalore
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
12:00 - 13:15
PDF Poster session
Anise
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
Blending research and teaching: towards a rewarding academic life
Sravanti Uppaluri, Azim Premji University
16:00 - 16:30
Obstacles never end, and neither does my journey: Story of health research entrepreneurship in Nepal
Sameer Mani Dixit, Center for Molecular Dynamics, Nepal
16:30 - 17:00
Tea | Coffee | Light refreshments
Pre-function area, Grand Ballroom (GBR)
17:00 - 18:00
Grant writing in the life sciences in India
Madhankumar Anandkrishnan, IISc Bangalore
18:00 - 19:00
Opportunities and challenges in graduate/ PhD training in India | Grand Ballroom
Panelists: Rashna Bhandari (DBT-CDFD), Sanjeev Galande (SNIoE), TBC
19:00 - 19:15
Summary of YIM 2025
Karishma S Kaushik, IndiaBioscience
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
16:40 - 17:55
PDF Poster session
Anise
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