Avadhesha Surolia
Avadhesha Surolia 
India
Avadhesha Surolia, obtained his Ph.D from the Christian Medical College, Vellore, under the supervision of Dr.Bimal K.Bachhawat and is currently the Director of NII. He earlier served as the Chairman of Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science during 2001–2006 and has been visiting scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA. Prof. Surolia is recipient of numerous National and International awards and was also the President, International Glycoconjugate Organisation during 2003–2005. Prof. Surolia's pioneering contributions have strongly influenced International research on structure and function of lectins, orientation and dynamics of cell surface carbohydrate receptors as well as drug and molecular design and their biotechnological applications. He played a pivotal role together with his colleague M. Vijayan in the discovery of the unusual quaternary structure of peanut agglutinin and a novel lectin fold in Jacalin as well as the structural basis of inactivation of ribosomes by gelonin-all of which laid the foundation of structural biology as it stands today in the country. His original strategies for drug and DNA delivery are widely acclaimed. Surolia has recently discovered that the fatty acid synthesis pathway in human malarial parasite is distinct from its human host and its interference by triclosan, a commonly used biocide, thus paving the way for novel drug development for treating malaria in collaboration with Namita Surolia.