Padma Venkat

Biography

Achievements: 1. Established the R&D facilities at the organization and mobilised funds to set up and expand the infrastructure and expertise 2. Pioneered strategic areas for trans-disciplinary research such as Rasayana and wellness (concepts and products), Abhava pratinidhi dravya (substitutes), safe drinking water and anemia 3. Pioneered in developing molecular markers for Indian medicinal plant species 4. Built research expertise and established various disciplines (like phytochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, bioassay facilities etc.) required to address the above areas, published scientific articles in peer reviewed journals (40 nos.) 5. Researched and developed an affordable copper based device (TamRas) for microbial purification of drinking water, which is now in the transition process of lab to land 6. Transferred technology of TamRas to industry 7. Patented a field diagnostic kit for authentication of medicinal plants and semi-quantification of reference markers 8. Engaged with industry for new product development. Developed > 25 products 9. On scientific advisory boards of national and international organisations and journal editorial boards 10. Obtained recognition for the R&D lab facility through accreditations from AYUSH and ISO 11. Played a critical role in obtaining recognition from Manipal, Sastra and Christ Universities as a PhD centre 12. Guided 4 PhD students in the areas of drinking water, malaria, abhava dravya and Rasayana & wellness

Research Interest

• Drinking water- going beyond safety; to look at ways in which water can be used as a medium to impart health & wellness • Anemia- providing sustainable traditional knowledge based solutions for managing anemia • Wellness- Trans-disciplinary research in addressing critical concepts and challenges of achieving wellness. This would include theoretical as well as applied research in upcoming areas like one health & planetary health and integrating them with svasthya and rasayana • Abhava Dravya- leveraging Ayurveda knowledge to identify substitutes for unavailable medicinal plant raw drugs and augment