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{{Short description|Indian molecular biologist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Umesh Varshney
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1957|10|26}}
| birth_place = India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence =
| fields = {{ublist | [[Molecular biology]] }}
| workplaces = {{ublist | [[Indian Institute of Science]] }}
| alma_mater = {{ublist | [[Jiwaji University]] | [[G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology]] | [[University of Calgary]] | [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] }}
| doctoral_advisor = Lashitew Gedamu<br />Hans van de Sande
| doctoral_students =
| known_for = [[Protein synthesis]] and DNA repair of [[Mycobacterium tuberculosis]]
| awards = 1999 [[National Bioscience Award for Career Development|N-BIOS Award]]<br />2001 [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]]<br />2001 SBC P. S. Sarma Memorial Award<br />2002 [[Novo Nordisk]] Life Sciences Research Award
}}

'''Umesh Varshney''' (born 1957) is an Indian molecular biologist, academician and the head of a laboratory at the [[Indian Institute of Science]], Bengaluru.He is the recipient of Vigyan Shree award, 2024 from the president of India.<ref name="Why Venky Ramakrishnan is a great scientist">{{cite web | url=http://www.rediff.com/news/special/why-nobel-prize-winner-venkataraman-ramakrishnan-is-a-great-scientist/20091008.htm | title=Why Venky Ramakrishnan is a great scientist | publisher=ReDiff News | date=8 October 2009 | access-date=16 October 2016}}</ref> He is a J. C. Bose National Fellow of the [[Department of Science and Technology (India)|Department of Science and Technology]] and is known for his studies on [[protein synthesis]] and DNA repair in ''Escherichia coli'' and [[Mycobacterium tuberculosis]].<ref name="Brief Profile of the Awardee">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/content/Detail.aspx?AID=99 | title=Brief Profile of the Awardee | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref> An elected fellow of the [[Indian Academy of Sciences]],<ref name="Fellow profile - Varshney">{{cite web | url=http://www.ias.ac.in/describe/fellow/Varshney,_Dr_Umesh | title=Fellow profile - Varshney | publisher=Indian Academy of Sciences | date=2016 | access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref> [[Indian National Science Academy]] and the National Academy of Sciences (India), he is also a recipient of the [[National Bioscience Award for Career Development]] of the Government of India.<ref name="Indian fellow - Varshney">{{cite web | url=http://www.insaindia.res.in/detail.php?id=P08-1470 | title=Indian fellow - Varshney | publisher=Indian National Science Academy | date=2016 | access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref> The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]], awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology]], one of the highest Indian science awards, in 2001, and then in 2014 with the G. N. Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology for his contributions to biological sciences.<ref name="View Bhatnagar Awardees">{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/Detail.aspx?AID=201 | title=View Bhatnagar Awardees | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Umesh Varshney, born on 26 October 1957 in the Indian state of [[Uttar Pradesh]], graduated in science from [[Jiwaji University]] in 1975 and completed his master's degree at [[G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology]] in 1979.<ref name="Indian fellow - Varshney" /> Moving to Canada, he did his doctoral studies on a Graduate Teaching Assistantship and Studentship by Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Foundation (AHFMR) under the guidance of Lashitew Gedamu and secured his doctoral degree from the [[University of Calgary]] in 1985. His post-doctoral studies were at the laboratory of Johan Hans van de Sande at the university and, later, at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] with U. L. RajBhandary. Returning to India in 1991, he started his career at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology (then known as Centre for Genetic Engineering) of the [[Indian Institute of Science]] as an assistant professor, and promoted to associate professor (1997), professor (2002) and dean of the undergraduate programs<ref name="In the top league">{{cite web | url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151207/jsp/you/story_57010.jsp | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115054019/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1151207/jsp/you/story_57010.jsp | archive-date=15 January 2016 | title=In the top league | newspaper=The Telegraph | date=7 December 2015 | access-date=16 October 2016}}</ref> and heads a laboratory<ref name="Prof.Umesh Varshney's Lab">{{cite web | url=http://www.mcbl.iisc.ernet.in/Varshney/people.html | title=Prof.Umesh Varshney's Lab | publisher=Indian Institute of Science | date=2016 | access-date=16 October 2016 | archive-date=18 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018202522/http://www.mcbl.iisc.ernet.in/Varshney/people.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> while chairing the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology of the Indian Institute of Science.<ref name="Make science an attractive career">{{cite journal | title=Make science an attractive career | journal=Nature | publisher=Nature.com | date=13 May 2015 | volume=521 | issue=7551 | pages=151–155 | doi=10.1038/521151a | pmid=25971494 | s2cid=4461796 | doi-access=free }}</ref> He is also an honorary faculty at [[Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research]] since 1999<ref name="Honorary Faculty">{{cite web | url=http://www.jncasr.ac.in/main_page.php/Honorary-Faculty/27/1/21/ | title=Honorary Faculty | publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research | date=2016 | access-date=16 October 2016}}</ref> and is a collaborator of the Genome Metabolism and Biostruct Laboratory, Budapest.<ref name="Collaborator ">{{cite web | url=http://www.biostruct.org/ | title=Collaborator | publisher=Genome Metabolism and Biostruct Laboratory | date=2016 | access-date=16 October 2016}}</ref> He is currently the Chairman of the division of Biological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

== Legacy ==
Varhsney's researches are primarily focused in the area of protein synthesis and DNA repair in ''Escherichia'' ''coli'' and ''[[Mycobacterium tuberculosis]]''.<ref name="Varshney on Division of Biological Sciences, IISc.">{{cite web | url=http://bio.iisc.ac.in/?q=faculty/umesh-varshney | title=Varshney on Division of Biological Sciences, IISc. | publisher=Division of Biological Sciences, IISc. | date=2016 | access-date=16 October 2016 | archive-date=19 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019053139/http://bio.iisc.ac.in/?q=faculty/umesh-varshney }}</ref><ref name="Project : Mechanism of protein synthesis; and DNA repair in bacteria">{{cite web | url=https://www.researchgate.net/project/Mechanism-of-protein-synthesis-and-DNA-repair-in-bacteria | title=Project: Mechanism of protein synthesis; and DNA repair in bacteria | date=2016 | access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref> His researches are known to have assisted in a wider understanding of the biology of mycobacterium, more specifically the interaction between ribosome recycling factor and elongation factor G as well as the [[uracil]] [[excision repair]] pathway.<ref name="Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners">{{cite web | url=http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | title=Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=1999 | access-date=5 October 2016 | page=34}}</ref> These studies are reported to have been aimed at developing newer drug targets and the attenuated strains.<ref name="Indian fellow - Varshney" /> He has detailed his research findings by way of articles published in peer-reviewed journals{{Refn|group=note|Please see Selected bibliography section}} and online scientific article repositories like [[ResearchGate]], [[Google Scholar]] and PubFacts have listed many of them.<ref name="Varshney on ResearchGate">{{cite web | url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Umesh_Varshney2 | title=Varshney on ResearchGate | work=Author profile | date=2016 | access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="Varshney on Google Scholar">{{cite web | url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Bs6KngYAAAAJ&hl=en | title=Varshney on Google Scholar | publisher=Google Scholar | work=Author profile | date=2016 | access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="Varshney on PubFacts">{{cite web | url=http://www.pubfacts.com/author/Umesh+Varshney | title=Varshney on PubFacts | publisher=PubFacts | work=Author profile | date=2016 | access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref> He was one of the organizers of the 2''1st International tRNA Workshop hel''d at Indian Institute of Science in December 2005, has guided several scholars in their doctoral researches<ref name="Indian fellow - Varshney" /> and delivered keynote addresses at many science conferences.<ref name="Confirmed Speakers">{{cite web | url=http://www.tifr.res.in/~dbsconf/15TM/speakers.html | title=Confirmed Speakers | publisher=Tata Institute of Fundamental Research | date=January 2012 | access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="Homage paid to scientist J.V. Bhat">{{cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/homage-paid-to-scientist-jv-bhat/article8312146.ece | title=Homage paid to scientist J.V. Bhat | work=The Hindu | date=4 March 2016 | access-date=17 October 2016}}</ref>

== Awards and honors ==
In 1999, when the [[Department of Biotechnology]] of India instituted the [[National Bioscience Award for Career Development]] as one of the prestigious science awards in the country,<ref name="Prestigious bioscience award for IICT scientist">{{cite web | url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Prestigious-bioscience-award-for-IICT-scientist/articleshow/18997151.cms | title=Prestigious bioscience award for IICT scientist | publisher=Times of India | date=16 March 2013 | access-date=16 October 2016}}</ref> Umesh Varshney was among the first recipients of the award.<ref name="Awardees for the year 1999">{{cite web | url=http://dbtindia.nic.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/list_of_bioscience_awardees.pdf | title=Awardees for the year 1999 | publisher=Department of Biotechnology | date=2016 | access-date=17 October 2016 | archive-date=4 March 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304191331/http://dbtindia.nic.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/list_of_bioscience_awardees.pdf }}</ref> The [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] awarded him the [[Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize]] in 2001, and then in 2014 he was awarded the G. N. Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology. In 2001, he received the P. S. Sarma Memorial Award of the Society of Biological Chemists (India) (SBC).<ref name="SBC booklet">{{cite web | url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/sbci/images/sbc-rules%20(79%20Book).pdf | title=SBC booklet | publisher=Society of Biological Chemists (India) | date=2016 | access-date=17 October 2016 | archive-date=9 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809130829/http://www.iisc.ernet.in/sbci/images/sbc-rules%20(79%20Book).pdf }}</ref> A life member of the SBC, he received the Life Sciences Research Award of [[Novo Nordisk]] Education Foundation in 2002 and the year 2008 brought him the elected fellowship of the [[Indian National Science Academy]] and the J. C. Bose National Fellowship of the [[Department of Science and Technology (India)|Department of Science and Technology]] of India.<ref name="Indian fellow - Varshney"/> He was awarded the Vigyan Shri Award under [[Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar]] scheme in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP) - 2024: Final List of Awardees |url=https://awards.gov.in/Home/GoToIndex?filename=Award%2FCommunication%2F202488013634H24ZU2.pdf|website=awards.gov.in |publisher=CASU, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |access-date=15 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar: Chandrayaan-3 team and 32 others selected for first ever edition |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/rashtriya-vigyan-puraskar-chandrayaan-3-team-and-32-others-selected-for-first-ever-edition-here-is-full-list/articleshow/112349033.cms?from=mdr |website=economictimes.indiatimes.com |publisher=The Economic Times |access-date=15 August 2024}}</ref>

== Selected bibliography ==
* {{cite journal | title=An evolutionarily conserved element in initiator tRNAs prompts ultimate steps in ribosome maturation | author=Sunil Shetty, Umesh Varshney | journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | date=October 2016|doi=10.1073/pnas.1609550113 | volume=113 | issue=41 | pages=E6126–E6134| pmc=5068261 | pmid=27698115| bibcode=2016PNAS..113E6126S | doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal | title=Two highly conserved features of bacterial initiator tRNAs license them to pass through distinct checkpoints in translation initiation | author=Sunil Shetty, Riyaz AHMAD Shah, Ullas V. Chembazhi, Shivjee Sah, Umesh Varshney | journal=Nucleic Acids Research | date=September 2016 | doi=10.1093/nar/gkw854 | pages=2040–2050 | pmid=28204695| pmc=5389676 | volume=45 | issue=4 }}
* {{cite journal | title=Structure of the second Single Stranded DNA Binding protein (SSBb) from Mycobacterium smegmatis | author=Amandeep Singh, Umesh Varshney, M. Vijayan | journal=Journal of Structural Biology | date=September 2016 | doi=10.1016/j.jsb.2016.09.012 | volume=196 | issue=3 | pages=448–454| pmid=27659385 }}
* {{cite journal | title=Evolution of initiator tRNAs and selection of methionine as the initiating amino acid | author=Souvik Bhattacharyya, Umesh Varshney | journal=RNA Biology | date=June 2016 | volume=13 | issue=9 | doi=10.1080/15476286.2016.1195943 | pages=810–819| pmc=5013993 | pmid=27322343}}
* {{cite journal | title=The Termination Phase in Protein Synthesis is not Obligatorily Followed by the RRF/EF-G-Dependent Recycling Phase | author=Bo Qin, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Takuya Ueda, Umesh Varshney, Knud H Nierhaus | journal=Journal of Molecular Biology | date=May 2016 | doi=10.1016/j.jmb.2016.05.019 | volume=428 | issue=18 | pages=3577–3587| pmid=27261258 }}
* {{cite journal | title=A unique uracil-DNA binding protein of the uracil DNA glycosylase superfamily | author=Pau Biak Sang, Thiruneelakantan Srinath, Aravind Goud G Patil, Eui-Jeon Woo, Umesh Varshney | journal=Nucleic Acids Research | date=August 2015 | doi=10.1093/nar/gkv854 | volume=43 | issue=17 | pages=8452–8463| pmid=26304551 | doi-access=free | pmc=4787834 }}{{cite journal|title=Simultaneous presence of fhs and purT genes is disadvantageous for the fitness of Escherichia coli growth|author=Srinivas Aluri, Kervin Rex, Umesh Varshney|journal=FEMS Microbiology Letters|date=June 2015|doi=10.1093/femsle/fnv101|volume=362|issue=14|article-number=fnv101|pmid=26100103|doi-access=free}}

{{Portal|India|Biology}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{cite web | url=https://meta.science/author/102447824_umesh_varshney | title=Umesh Varshney on Meta Science | publisher=Meta Science | work=Author profile | date=2016 | access-date=17 October 2016 | archive-date=18 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018222504/https://meta.science/author/102447824_umesh_varshney }}
* {{cite web | url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Umesh_Varshney2/publications | title=List of Publications | work=Article listing | date=2016 | access-date=17 October 2016}}

{{SSBPST recipients in Biological Science}}
{{N-BIOS Laureates 1999–2009}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varshney, Umesh}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Biological Science]]
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Scientists from Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Jiwaji University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calgary alumni]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Indian Institute of Science]]
[[Category:Indian molecular biologists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy]]
[[Category:N-BIOS Prize recipients]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biologists]]

Umesh Varshney - Revision history

Abid: Started new stub