Pakrasi receives grant for U.S.-India synthetic biology workshop

Pakrasi

Himadri B. Pakrasi, PhD, received a $49,448 grant from the National Science Foundation to support the “Indo-U.S. Workshop on Synthetic and Systems Biology” being held this November in New Delhi.

Pakrasi is the Myron and Sonya Glassberg/Albert and Blanche Greensfelder Distinguished University Professor and director of the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability (I-CARES).

The workshop will bring together synthetic biology communities in India and the U.S. to find scientific problems of social relevance, highlight educational goals, and identify collaboration opportunities. The meeting includes representatives from India’s Department of Biotechnology’s Ministry of Science and Technology; the U.S. National Science Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Agrictulture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

This is the first binational planning meeting in this scientific area between the two governments, and an important goal is developing a roadmap for binational cooperation. The grant will fund the travel of 12 faculty and researchers from across the U.S. to participate in the workshop.

To learn more about Pakrasi’s research in synthetic biology, see articles discussing his work in The Atlantic and The Economic Times of India.