The year 2017 came to a close with the Basser Center for BRCA naming Prof.

The National Academy of Sciences announced the election of 84 new members and 21 foreign associates, recognizing their notable and enduring achievements in original research on May 1, 2018.

Prof. Inder Verma is a pioneer in the field of creating virus-based gene therapy vectors and has made major contributions in the fields of cancer and immunology. His group uses lentiviruses - viruses to which the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV belongs - to create gene transmitting vectors to generate mouse models of human cancer.

The National Centre for Biological Sciences extends a warm welcome to Raj Ladher, the newest faculty member to join the Centre. His expertise lies in the field of developmental genetics, specifically in understanding how developmental signals influence basic cellular mechanisms to control morphogenesis.

Prof. Madan Rao, who has been an adjunct professor with the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) for more than 15 years, has recently been appointed as a full-time faculty member at the Centre.

The Sanctuary Asia Wildlife awards aim to recognise the contribution of individuals who actively work towards protecting the natural habitats and wildlife of India. Since their inception in 2000, the awards have drawn national attention to the the inspirational work of hundreds across the country.

The National Centre for Biological Sciences is delighted to welcome Dimple Notani who joins the Centre as its newest faculty member. She holds a Wellcome Trust-DBT India Alliance Intermediate Research Fellowship, and is an expert in the field of functional genomics and epigenetics.

The campus extends a warm welcome to Shashi Thutupalli, the newest faculty member joining NCBS. He will be affiliated with the Theory and Modelling group, and with the Simons Centre at NCBS. During his PhD, Shashi worked on studying pattern formation in Min proteins that influence division in bacteria.

Sunaina Surana, a former PhD student from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, has won an Eli Lilly and Company Asia Outstanding Thesis Award for 2014. Sunaina's thesis titled "A framework to apply DNA nanodevices to a multicellular model organism" dealt with testing the operation of a DNA nanomachine which senses pH changes in a live organism - the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans.